Full text of "The American Legion [Volume 177, No. 2 (August 2014)]"

See other formats

THE AMERICAN

wunu.Iegion.org

$2.50 AUGUST 2014

The magazine for a strong America

Gold Star Son Myles Eckert

A sovereign
Scotland

Houses that
Fisher built

THE LAST
CODE TALKER

USAA"

USAA is proud to be the

Preferred Provider

of Insurance and Financial Services
to The American Legion

Use the card. Benefit The American Legion.

The American Legion USAA Rewards™ World MasterCard®
and USAA Bank, which is dedicated to serving the military
community, help make it easier to support the mission of
The American Legion. At the same time, you can enjoy USAA
Bank's competitive rates and legendary customer service.

USAA tARfl HEriBER

■ Mas *,0*1

Apply today.

1-877-699-2654 usaa.com/legioncc

Insurance Banking Investments Retirement Advice We know what it means to servef

USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its insurance, banking, investment and other companies. USAA products are available only in
those jurisdictions where USAA is authorized to sell them.

Availability restrictions apply. Purchase of a bank product does not establish eligibility for or membership in USAA property and casualty insurance companies. The American Legion receives
financial support from USAA for this sponsorship.

USAA®

DESERT STORM VETERANS IRAQ VETERANS

W e proudly present our Official Military War

Rings to honor Veterans and Honor recipients who
served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm,
Afghanistan and Iraq. Each ring is custom crafted in America with solid
Gold and Sterling Silver detailed with 24 karat antiqued gold. The inside
hand is solid, never hollow, for maximum comfort and fit.

PURPLE HEART, BRONZE STAR,

AND SILVER STAR RECIPIENTS
MAY HAVE THEIR MEDAL/RIBBON ON THEIR RING.

As a permanent mark of exclusivity, your ring will he
engraved on the inner hand with your initials and the
years of your service.

Wl?&

1 969-'72

The top of your ring features a solid 10KT Gold Military Service emblem
mounted on a brilliant, polished Capstone. One side of your ring will hear
your War Medal & Ribbon in official enamel colors. The other side is
either a sculpture of the War Memorial (for WWII, Korea or Vietnam), or
sculpted Service Branch Emblem (for Desert Storm, Afghanistan or Iraq).

Thank you priced at a remarkably low $239*, an affordable payment plan
is also available. Your satisfaction is guaranteed or you may return your
ring within 30 days for replacement or refund - no questions asked. So
order yours today!

YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO WEAR THIS HISTORIC RING.

rnrr memorial

rliCC FLAG PIN

WITH EVERY ORDER

FORFASTEST SERVICE CALL TOLL FREE TO ORDER: 1 - 800 - 255-3048

Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm EST. Have Credit card and ring size ready when ordering.

Or, Mail to: Veterans Commemoratives™ Rings, Two Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 120, Radnor, PA 19087-4599

MILITARY

EMBLEMS

in 10KT Gold.

See order form.

□ YES. I wish to order an Exclusive War Veteran Ring, personalized for me
as follows:

War: □ WWII □ Korean Service □ Vietnam

□ Desert Storm □ Iraq □ Afghanistan (not shown)

Service Branch: □ Army B Navy □ Air Force □ Marine Corps
□ Coast Guard □ Merchant Marine

I NEED SEND NO MONEY NOW. Bill me in 4 monthly installments of $59.75*
each, with the first payment due prior to shipment.

SHIPPING ADDRESS (We cannot ship to p.o. Boxes) Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

Name

Address

Initials Desired (3):

Service Yrs:

City.

State Zip.

Ring Size: (Use ring sizer below or consult jeweler)

□ I AM AN HONOR RECIPIENT. Please include my Medal & Ribbon on
my ring: □ Purple Heart □ Bronze Star □ Silver Star
NOTE: A copy of your DD21 4 or other authorizing document must be sent with your order. Thank You.

i rrTrT-rrTrTTi"

^coFo^o ^ 00 ^ 10501 -^ 03

I I_1 J_L_L_I_LJ_L_L_I_L__

RING SIZE GUIDE

CUT THIS OUT CAREFULLY

USE AS SHOWN ON FINGER

Phone # ( )

Signature

* Plus SI 4. 9 5 for engraving, shipping, and handling.
PA residents add 6% state sales tax.

HONRIN-ALM0814

FOR MORE FINE MILITARY RINGS & WATCHES VISIT VETERANS COMMEMORATIVES™ ONLINE AT WWW.VETCOM.COM

t Voice

der’s Message
The American Legion

ssues

Living Well
Veterans Update
Rapid Fire
Comrades
Parting Shots

The American Legion Magazine, a leader among national general-interest
publications, is published monthly by The American Legion for its 2.3 million
members. These wartime veterans, working through 14,000 community-leve
posts, dedicate themselves to God and Country and traditional American
values; strong national security; adequate and compassionate care
veterans, their widows and orphans; community service; and the
wholesome development of our nation's youth.

contents

August 2014 • Vol. 177, No. 2

22 Serve Those Who Served

Fisher House CEO Ken Fisher calls his foundation's mission
"beautiful in its simplicity" By Matt Grills

32 ‘All the Horrors of All the Ages’

The Great War redrew the lines of our world in ways that affect
US today. By Alan I/I/. Dowd

40 The Un-United Kingdom

Will the Scots stick with the British or declare themselves
an independent nation? By Ben Barber

46 Last of the Code Talkers

In his final interview, World War II Marine Chester Nez
reflected on his place in history. By Henry Howard

50 Foreign-Born American Heroes

Not all recipients of our highest military honor have
been U.S. natives. By Al Manchester

ON THE COVER

52 Gold Star Son

Nine-year-old Myles Eckert, whose father lost his life
in Iraq, was recognized by Sons of The American
Legion's Detachment of Ohio for "paying it forward"
to a member of the Ohio Air National Guard in a
heart-tugging moment aired by CBS Evening News
in February. By Cameran Richardson photo by Lucas carter

70 YEARS AFTER D-DAY

American Legion National Commander Dan
Dellinger and American Legion Auxiliary President
Nancy Brown-Park were among tens of thousands
from around the world who visited northwestern
France in June to honor those who fought in the
1944 Allied invasion of Europe, which led to victory
in World War II. "We all owe our freedom to those
who answered the call," Dellinger said after placing
a memorial wreath under the statue "Spirit of
American Youth Rising from the Waves" at the
Normandy American Cemetery. "It's inspiring to
come to this part of the world and see how many
local people truly understand that debt and
appreciate it. It is inspiring, and it is humbling."

Visit www.legion.org/honor to see stories and

phOtOS. Photo by Jeff Staffer

NOTICE TO VETERANS WITH

MESOTHELIOMA

YOU ARE
NOT ALONE
IN THIS FIGHT.

TURN TO A

r rsw&'.

w- 1

As former sailors and Marines, we served
together yesterday. As seasoned attorneys, my
firm and I will fight for you today. Attorneys at
Coady Law Firm have successfully represented
veterans in mesothelioma claims nationwide for
more than two decades. We've helped veterans
understand their rights — and secured millions
for their families in just compensation.

Trust in the experience and commitment of
a shipmate who served with you. Contact
the Coady Law Firm. Receive a FREE,
no-obligation consultation.

Bud Coady

Harvard, 1979
USMC, 1979-89, 1991
Gulf War Veteran

Attorney at Law

$30 Billion

FROM U.S. COMPENSATION
TRUST FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR
VETERANS WHO QUALIFY

Call 1-888-802-MESO (6376)

TO DETERMINE YOUR ELIGIBILITY.

205 Portland Street • Boston, MA 021 14 • Web: www.coadylaw.com

C DADY

LAW

FIRM

Portable Burn-Cage™

Burn SAFELY with the
Stainless Steel

Perfect For...

• Old Leaves and
Branches

• Sensitive Financial
Documents

• Burnable House-
hold Waste

CLEANER MORE EFFICIENT
FIRES. Perforated lid and
sidewalls maximize airflow
and trap burning embers.
High burn temperatures mean
thorough incineration with
less residue and ash.

LIGHTWEIGHT and portable.

NEW Larger XL No more UNSAFE 5
Model available! Rusty Barrel! ™

Call today for FREE Information Kit, s
Pricing, and Factory Direct Coupon. §

2014 24kt $50 Gold Buffalo only $1289.00

2014 Silver American Eagles only $19.95

2014 $5 Gold American Eagles at cost $129.00

CHECK

MONEY ORDER
BANK WIRE

Vault Code #AL0814

Coins shown not actual size. Price and availability subject to change.

Prices shown are Gold base of $1 247/oz and silver base of $1 8.86/oz.

Gold Buffalo max 5 coins. Gold Eagle min 5 coins, max 1 0 coins. Silver Eagle max 1 0 coins.

Living History Event

Salute to Veterans of WWII August 30™ - 31 st

We invite all WWII Veterans to attend and be honored.

For more info contact Vincennes/Knox County CVB at
800-886-6443 or visit www.vincennescvb.org/legion

NATIONAL COMMANDER
PUBLISHER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Daniel M. Dellinger

The American Legion
Jeffrey O. Brown

EDITOR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF
MAGAZINE OPERATIONS
MANAGING EDITOR
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
DISPATCH EDITOR
ASSISTANT WEB EDITOR
BURNPIT EDITOR
VISUAL TEAM MANAGER
DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST
VISUAL MEDIA SPECIALIST
PRODUCTION MANAGER
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Jeff Stoffer

Henry Howard
Matt Grills
Laura Edwards
Julie Campbell
Steve Brooks
Cameran Richardson
Andrew Romey
MarkSeavey
Holly K. Soria
Celesta Tbrok-Lee
Lucas Carter
Tony Heath
Alan W. Dowd

MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

CHAIRMAN Benedict A. Lee, Calabash, N.C.
VICE CHAIRMAN James C. Morris, Cardington, Ohio

COMMANDER'S

REPRESENTATIVE Terry D. Lewis, Philadelphia
CONSULTANTS Jerilyn Strande, Cottonwood, Ariz.

Rodger A. Bennett, Thawville, ill.
Albert W. Coughlin, Park Ridge, ill.
Robert A. Corrigan, Bronx, n.y.

MEMBERS Roger H. Anderson, South Windsor, Conn.
Richard A. Baxter, Palisade, Neb.

Henry P. Bradley, North Quincy, Mass.

Fae Casper, Douglasville, Ga.

Bettylou Evans, Laurel, Dela.

Thomas A. Fernlund, St. Cloud, Minn.
John J. Gasper, Archbald, Pa.

Paul L. Greer, Leesville, La.

James H. Hall, Hopewell, NJ.

Don R. Herrly, ND
James Huls, Madison, S.D.

Paul M. Kennedy, Pittsburgh
Jennings B. Loring, Nashville, Tenn.

Doug Mai in, \Nest Haverstraw, N.Y.

Susan B. Mason, Sorrento, Fla.

Silas M. Noel, Frankfort, Ky.

Marvin C. Rodney, Alexandria, Va.

David E. Shafer, Dixon, Mo.

David L. Sharber, MountVemon.ind.

Terri L. Shelefontiuk, Lakewood, Colo.
George J. Sinkewitz, Huntington, w.Va.
Jerry J. Smith, Trussville, Ala.

Edwin R. Strain, Heber Springs, Ark.

Frank C. Ward, Greer, S.C.

Danny K. Wiley, Leavenworth, Kan.

NEC LIAISON Randall Coffman Chairman, Russellville, Ky.
COMMITTEE Charles W. Goodin, Jefferson City, Mo.

Steven M. Jimmo, Chicopee, Mass.

Alan C. Lennox, SutterCreek, Calif.

Paul A. Lheureux, Auburn, Maine
Mickey C. Taylor, Myrtle Beach, S.C.

ADVERTISING

advertising director Diane Andretti

ASSISTANT ADVERTISING

manager Chris Elliot

CONTACT

ADVERTISING SALES

NEW YORK
DETROIT
CHICAGO
LOS ANGELES

The American
Legion Magazine
P.O. Box 7068
Indianapolis, IN 46207
James G. Elliott
Company, Inc.

(212) 588-9200
(248) 530-0300
(312)236-4900

(213) 624-0900

Copyright 2014 by The American Legion
The American Legion (ISSN 0886-1234) is published monthly
by The American Legion, 5745 Lee Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216.
Periodicals postage paid at Indianapolis, IN 46204 and additional
mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The American Legion,
Data Services, P.O. Box 1954, Indianapolis, IN 46206.

Canada Post International Publications Mall (Canadian Distribution)
Sales Agreement No. PM40063731. Return Undeliverable
Canadian Addresses to: Station A, P.O. Box, Windsor ON N9A 6J5.
Re-entered second-class mail matter at Manila Central Post Office
dated Dec. 22, 1991.

Printed in USA

Member Audit Bureau of Circulations

VET VOICE

The Magazine for a Strong America

HOWTO CONTACT US
ADDRESS CHANGES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
CUSTOMER ( 800 ) 433-3318
service cs@legion.org

The American Legion
Data Services
P.O. Box 1954
Indianapolis, IN 46206

For change of address by mail, attach old address
label, provide new address and membership number.

ARTICLE PROPOSALS

MAGAZINE ( 317 ) 630-1298

magazine@legion.org

NATIONAL ( 317 ) 630-1200
headquarters 700 N. Pennsylvania St.

Indianapolis, IN 46204
AMERICAN LEGION P.O. BOX 1 055

magazine Indianapolis, IN 46206
email magazine@legion.org
telephone (317)630-1298
website www.legion.org
subscriptions Free with membership
Non-members: $15
Foreign: $21

Post-sponsored and widows: $6
Single copies: $3.50

MEMBERSHIP IN THE AMERICAN LEGION

Veterans who served at least one day of active military duty
during wartime, or are serving now, are potentially eligible
for membership in The American Legion. Members must
have been honorably discharged or still serving honorably.

ELIGIBILITY
DATES OF
MILITARY
SERVICE

TO JOIN

Aug 2, 1990 -current
Dec. 20,1989 -Jan. 31, 1990
Aug. 24, 1982 -July 31, 1984
Feb. 28,1 961 - May 7, 1975
June 25, 1950 - Jan. 31, 1955
Dec. 7, 1941 - Dec. 31, 1946
April 6, 1917- Nov 11, 1918
(Merchant Marines who served
from Dec. 7, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1946,
are also eligible.)

Membership Division
ia@legion.org
(317) 630-1321
www.legion.org

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION
VETERANS AFFAIRS (202)861-2700
& rehabilitation var@legion.org
ECONOMIC 202.861.2700

FAMILY SUPPORT
NETWORK
CITIZENS FLAG
ALLIANCE

LEGION RIDERS

AMERICAN LEGION
BASEBALL

BOYS NATION

JUNIOR
SHOOTING SPORTS
NATIONAL
ORATORICAL CONTEST
USAA

BLOOD PROGRAM

econ@legion.org
(800) 504-4098
familysupport@legion.org
(317) 630-1384
cfa@cfa-inc.org
www.legion.org/flag
(317) 630-1265
www.legion.org/riders
legionriders@legion.org
(317) 630-1249
baseball@legion.org
www.legion.org/baseball
(317) 630-1207

boysstate-nation@legion.org
(317) 630-1249
juniorshooting@legion.org
(317) 630-1249
oratorical@legion.org
(877) 699-2654
www.usaa.com/legion
(202) 263-2993

www.legion.org/security/blood

SCHOLARSHIPS & CHARITABLE TRUSTS

AMERICAN LEGACY
SCHOLARSHIP
AMERICAN LEGION
ENDOWMENT FUND
CHILD WELFARE
FOUNDATION
NATIONAL
EMERGENCY FUND

(317) 630-1212
scholarships@legion.org
(317) 630-1202

(317) 630-1202
www.cwf-inc.org
(317) 630-1376
ia@legion.org

AMERICAN LEGION MERCHANDISE

ORDER PLACEMENT (888)453-4466
and catalog emblem.legion.org
requests emblem@legion.org

AMERICAN LEGION FAMILY

AMERICAN LEGION (317)569-4500

auxiliary www.legion.org/auxiliary
SONSOFTHE (317)630-1200
American legion www.legion.org/sons

'A Question of Power'

I think the dynamic of expanding presidential power
is best illustrated by a single newscast from about
20 years ago. There were two stories: the first was that
U.S. children watched more TV than did children in any
other country, and the second reported a study in
which U.S. children finished behind most other
countries in measures of academic performance.

The latter was accompanied by sound bites of people
demanding to know what the president was going to
do about it. In the immortal words of Pogo, "We have
met the enemy and he is us."

- Mike Karsted, Beaverton , Ore.

Regarding the articles by
Jonathan Turley and William
Howell, I am well aware of the
necessity of government, since
chaos is the alternative. Never-
theless, I come down hard on
the side of limited power. Each
of us has some responsibility for
his or her conduct. Trying to
push more and more of it onto
government ends up creating a
population of yes people.

- Stuart Lyons, St. Johns, Ariz.

William Howell calls for
nothing less than the complete
destruction of our constitutional
system. He says the incumbent
president has been correctly
violating his oath of office
because Article II of the Consti-
tution does not give the presi-
dent sufficient powers to act.

The founding fathers knew
what they were doing. They
feared a strong president.

Even if Howell is right, there
is a procedure for changing the
Constitution. He has the right to
argue for those changes. But the
president does not have the
right to ignore his oath of office
and usurp powers reserved to
Congress or the people.

To ignore the Constitution as
it is written would destroy the
essence of America; we are a
nation of laws, not of uncon-
strained rulers.

- Nelson Easterling, Tallahassee, Fla.

I love my country, yet as a
combat veteran I know that
opinions change when we wear
the shoes of others. There are
those, like Cliven Bundy or Los
Angeles Clippers owner Donald
Sterling, who will never change
because of their beliefs and the
way they were brought up. The
president has Article II of the
Constitution, and some cannot
accept the fact that our presi-
dent who is of color is using
this article to include everyone.

I believe in progress.

-Arthur Matthews, Piscataway, N.J.

Jonathan Turley says that
many Americans misunder-
stand the separation of powers
“as simply a division of author-
ity between three branches of
government.” What’s new? A
majority of Americans don’t
vote, nor do they care to. I used
to work for a local elected
official. Constituents couldn’t
even get his title right, calling
him a senator, assemblyman,
congressman. People don’t care
until they’re forced to.

-Jeremy Warn eke, Bronx, N.Y.

The commentary on the
powers of the presidency
bypasses the real problem. Why
isn’t the focus on the cause of
this gridlock? The framers had a
deep understanding of human
nature that is absent today.

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 5

VET VOICE

They recognized that man’s
self-serving instincts would
overwhelm the rights of any
minority. They purposefully
established a republic in which
the legislative process was left to
elected representatives.

The framers expected that the
self-serving interests of members
of Congress would have them
return to their chosen careers
after a short period of service.

But for many, being a legislator
was more lucrative and thus a
career goal. This led to gerry-
mandered districts, special
congressional powers based on
longevity, primary elections with
rules that exclude independent
voters and favor incumbents,
and the need for incumbents to
favor wealthy constituents and
corporations in return for
re-election contributions.

These self-serving practices
are neither specified nor implied
in the Constitution. They need to
be replaced by rules that provide
a level playing field for new,
unencumbered candidates.

- Mori in E. Reinhart, Lehighton, Po.

The thrust of William Howell’s
argument seemed to be that (1)
citizens demand that presidents
solve all of their problems; (2)
Congress is incapable of moving
in unison to address the citizens’
demands, so presidents must act,
regardless of any constitutional
limitations against such action;
and (3) the Constitution is an
outdated document created for a
nation of pig farmers, so we
shouldn’t be too concerned with
adhering to its principles.

As to the first issue, Howell
ignores the fact that presidents

can simply tell the citizens they
should look foremost to their
own communities and local
governments for solutions to
their problems. Catering to
unreasonable expectations and
abusing the separation-of-powers
doctrine for political gain is not
an act of leadership to be lauded
as a necessary evil.

Regarding stalemates in
Congress, the framers fully
intended for the passage of
legislation to be difficult in order
to prevent the whims of the day
from guiding the country down
disastrous paths. The last time
Congress walked in lockstep, it
sent the country to war in Iraq
and passed the Patriot Act. What
could possibly go wrong if only
one individual holds the power
to declare war and decide if a
citizen is an enemy of the
country and therefore deserving
of surveillance, indefinite
detainment or death?

Finally, there is the notion that
the Constitution should be
ignored simply because it was
created in an earlier era. How-
ever, the form of government the
framers created was based on a
careful study of how men had
governed or had been governed
across many centuries and
diverse civilizations, and was
designed to endure the passions,
both good and evil, which
motivate humankind.

Howell’s argument amounts to
nothing more than encourage-
ment for those who would prefer
to look the other way and do
nothing rather than fight to
preserve their right to govern
themselves.

-JoyR. Boltin, Baton Rouge, La.

Back in the USSR 7

Alan Dowd hit the nail on the
head about Vladimir Putin
(June), particularly when he said
that Putin is playing chess and
winning. If you want to win at
chess, you have to control the
center of the board; Putin is
doing that in Ukraine. You trade
your pawns for your opponent’s
major pieces; he is doing that
with his soldiers. Chess in Russia
is like baseball here.

- Donald 1 / 1 / Killmeyer, Pittsburgh

Alan Dowd says Putin has
pulled Russia away from the
West, away from globalization
and back toward autarky. I had
to look that word up; it means
self-sufficiency and indepen-
dence. Maybe Dowd can explain
why that’s a bad thing.

Putin is not America’s greatest
problem. Our biggest problem is
globalization, politicians who
don’t put America first, banking,
and people who write articles
twisting what is really going on
in the world.

- Milton Robinson, Coatesville, Pa.

The Meaning of Normandy 7

As an old veteran of 86, I have
read many stories in this maga-
zine that have touched me
emotionally. But Keith Nightin-
gale’s article (June) brought a
flood of tears to my eyes like no
other story I have ever read.

I wish every child in America
could read about how the people
in this tiny French village take
time every June 6 to remember
seven American soldiers who
died there. The French people
have not forgotten.

- Clarence A. Sears, Jacksonville, Fla.

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE WELCOMES YOUR OPINIONS

Include your hometown and a daytime phone number for verification. All letters published are subject to editing.
Due to the volume of mail received, not every letter can be acknowledged.

The American Legion Magazine , P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206
magazine@legion.org

g THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Consumer: Coupon good only in the USA on
purchase of brand/size indicated. Void if copied,
transferred, prohibited or regulated. Retailer: Milo’s
Kitchen, LLC will reimburse you for face value of this
coupon plus 8C handling if redeemed in compliance
with our redemption policy (available upon request).
Cash value 1/1 00c. Send coupons to: Milo’s Kitchen,
LLC, P.O. Box 8801 01 , El Paso, TX 88588-01 01 .

SAVE $1.00

On any one (1) bag of Milo’s Kitchen®
brand home-style dog treats

079100-057028

COMMANDER'S MESSAGE

It really is a system worth saving

If it seems we have been here before, we have. Compassionate, timely
care for veterans has been a challenge for our government since the
Revolutionary War. The most important development in this journey
came immediately after The American Legion was founded in 1919.
Adequate care for veterans who returned home changed by war was
then, and remains today, the essential purpose of our organization.

After World War I, the mix of federal bureaus and agencies assigned to
serve veterans was at best dysfunctional. At worst, it was corrupt. One
early director of the Veterans Bureau, an ineffective predecessor to the
Veterans Administration, was sent to prison after using government
funds to stockpile and resell hospital supplies, including 100 years’
worth of floor wax, on the black market. Mentally ill veterans were
warehoused in jails, asylums and abandoned hotels, their conditions
undiagnosed let alone treated. Disabled, blinded, poisoned and diseased
veterans became the burdens of their families, not of our nation.

The American Legion spent a decade fighting to repair the problem,
making and winning the case for just one federal authority to deliver
care and earned benefits to veterans and their families. It was both a
moral imperative and an expression of gratitude on behalf of a nation
that should never take freedom for granted. VA would be that authority.

Since 1930, VA has withstood numerous shifts in health-care delivery,
patient demand, politics, technology, budgets and organizational over-
hauls, including its rise to Cabinet status in 1989. As the leading voice of
veterans who use VA services, the Legion has been in the thick of every
battle, from soaring demand after World War II to the embarrassing
need to improve quality, cleanliness and efficiency in the 1990s.

Over the past decade, VA has evolved to become, as author Phillip
Longman wrote in his 2007 book comparing it against all other sectors,
“the best care anywhere.” The caregivers, The American Legion and,
yes, even our government can be proud that the VA system outperforms
all others in patient satisfaction and quality.

When I called for the resignations of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and
his two top undersecretaries in May, I did not call for the resignation of
the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Timely access to VA’s high-quality care has been an unsolved problem
for too long. When whistle-blowers revealed secret lists and intentional
lies - and that executives received bonuses based on falsified appoint-
ment records while veterans were dying in line - it was not time for
more study. It was time for change. That’s happening now because The
American Legion believes VA is a system worth saving.

Amid all this has emerged a familiar outcry to collapse the system,
give veterans vouchers and let them go to any facility that will take
them. Such an argument suggests that veterans do not deserve the
specialized, quality care VA provides. Moreover, it suggests a
willingness to surrender rather than solve a problem. Thankfully,
those of us who served in uniform, often against deadly odds, do not
give up so easily.

National Commander
Daniel M. Dellinger

MEMORANDA

MAGAZINE DIGITIZATION

All issues of The American Legion
Weekly (July 1919-June 1926) are
now available in The American
Legion Digital Archive. Issues of
The American Legion Magazine
from January 2003 to December
2011 are available as well. Progress
continues on making available all
past issues of Legion publications.

CONVENTION COVERAGE

Several major events of the 96th
National Convention in Charlotte -
the Color Guard contest, the
Patriotic Memorial Service and
gavel-to-gavel floor coverage -
will be streamed live online.

FOUNDING FATHERS

During Spring Meetings in
Indianapolis, the Legion's National
Executive Committee approved an
alliance with the Founding Fathers
Brewing Co., a new U.S.-owned
company that brews premium
lagers. Founding Fathers will
support American military families
with half of net royalties from sales
through American Legion posts,
and will have a presence at the
96th National Convention in
Charlotte this month. The
company is in the process of
rolling out availability to all states.
© www.legion.org/troops

8 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

TAKE 85% OFF
INSTANTLY!

When you use your
INSIDER OFFER CODE

Back Again for the First Time

Our modern take on a 1929 classic, yours for the unbelievably nostalgic price of ONLY $29!

Y ou have a secret hidden up your sleeve. Strapped to your wrist
is a miniature masterpiece, composed of hundreds of tiny moving
parts that measure the steady heartbeat of the universe. You love
this watch. And you still smile every time you check it, because you
remember that you almost didn’t buy it. You almost turned the
page without a second thought, figuring that the Stauer
Metropolitan Watch for only $29 was just too good to be true.
But now you know how right it feels to be wrong.

Our lowest price EVER for a classic men’s dress watch. How can

we offer the Metropolitan for less than $30? The answer is simple.
Stauer has sold over one million watches in the last decade and
many of our clients buy more than one. Our goal isn’t to sell you a
single watch, our goal is to help you fall in love with Stauer’s entire
line of vintage-inspired luxury timepieces and jewelry. And every great
relationship has to start somewhere...

Tells today’s time with yesterday’s style. The Metropolitan is
exactly the kind of elegant, must-have accessory that belongs in
every gentleman’s collection next to his British cufflinks and Italian
neckties. Inspired by a rare 1929 Swiss classic found at auction, the
Metropolitan Watch revives a distinctive and debonair retro design
for 21st-century men of exceptional taste.

The Stauer Metropolitan retains all the hallmarks of a well-bred
wristwatch including a gold-finished case, antique ivory guilloche

face, blued Breguet-style hands, an easy-to-read date window at the
3 o’clock position, and a crown of sapphire blue. It secures with a
crocodile-patterned, genuine black leather strap and is water resistant
to 3 ATM.

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. We are so sure that you
will be stunned by the magnificent Stauer Metropolitan Watch
that we offer a 60-day money back guarantee. If you’re not
impressed after wearing it for a few weeks, return it for a full refund
of the purchase price. But once the first compliments roll in, we’re
sure that you’ll see the value of time well spent!

Stauer Metropolitan Timepiece — $199

Offer Code Price $29 S&P Save SI 70

You must use the insider offer code to get our special price.

1 - 888 - 870-9149

Your Offer Code: MTW1 69-02

Please use this code when you order to receive your discount.

Sutler

14101 Southcross Drive W.,
Dept. MTW1 69-02
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337

www.stauer.com

ACCREDITED

BUSINESS

Rating of A+

Smart Luxuries — Surprising Prices TI

Luxurious gold-finished case with sapphire-colored crown - Crocodile-embossed leather strap - Band fits wrists 6 VP -8 VP - Water-resistant to 3 ATM

As director of veterans education and transition support at Lake Erie
College in Ohio, Bob Mastronicola spends his days helping young
veterans navigate college and, eventually, graduation. As 9th District
commander for The American Legion's Department of Ohio, he works
hard to see that the Legion actively supports this same group.

Thus, starting an American Legion post at Lake Erie College made
sense to the Army retiree.

"These are family members our veterans here can go to when they
graduate and move out," says Mastronicola of the Legion's reach and
influence. "The positive is that we're seeing more interaction between
our campus veterans and the veterans on the outside. For example, we're
our own community (on campus) ... but in going to district conferences
and county conferences and state conferences, we're now getting
veterans here associating with veterans from other posts. It's expanding
their networking capabilities to land and get careers when they finish up
here at the school."

Mastronicola says he's quite familiar with the difficulties of moving
from a structured military lifestyle to the more laid-back atmosphere of
college life. "A lot of the issues with these veterans, I can relate," he says.

"I think that helps veterans out. They can see it's a survivable task: going
to college and graduating."

BRANCH OF SERVICE
U.S. Army (1983-2007)

RANK AT DISCHARGE

Sergeant first class

MOS

Military police/recruiter

AMERICAN LEGION POST

Brakeman-King Post 336,
Painesville, Ohio
VETERANS ACTIVITIES
Post commander, district
commander

Watch an interview with Bob Mastronicola online:
(P www.legion.org/magazine

‘ jj * AM

"When you were a civilian, you had to learn how to be

(in the military). You were trained. Now it's exactly the opposite.

Now you have to be trained to be a civilian."

BOB MASTRONICOLA

Photo by Lucas Carter

TECHNOLOGY SIMPLIFIED - BIGGER AND BETTER

Wow! A Simple to Use Computer
Designed Especially for Seniors!

Easy to read . Easy to see . Easy to use . Just plug it in!

“I love this computer! It is easy to
read and to use ! I get photo updates
from my children and grandchildren
all the time. ”

- Janet F.

Have you ever said to yourself “Pd
love to get a computer, if only I could
figure out how to use it.” Well, you’re
not alone. Computers were supposed
to make our lives simpler, but they’ve
gotten so complicated that they are
not worth the trouble. With all of the
“pointing and clicking” and “dragging
and dropping” you’re lucky if you
can figure out where you are. Plus,
you are constantly worrying about
viruses and freeze-ups. If this sounds
familiar, we have great news for you.
There is finally a computer that’s
designed for simplicity and ease of
use. It’s the WOW Computer, and
it was designed with you in mind. This
computer is easy-to-use, worry-free
and literally puts the world at your

fingertips. From the moment you
open the box, you’ll realize how
different the WOW Computer is.

The components are all connected;
all you do is plug it into an outlet and
your high-speed Internet connection.
Then you’ll see the screen - it’s now
22 inches. This is a completely new
touch screen system, without the
cluttered look of the normal computer
screen. The “buttons” on the screen
are easy to see and easy to understand.
All you do is touch one of them, from
the Web, Email, Calendar to Games-
you name it... and a new screen opens
up. It’s so easy to use you won’t have
to ask your children or grandchildren
for help. Until now the very people
who could benefit most from E-mail
and the Internet are the ones that
have had the hardest time accessing
it. Now, thanks to the WOW
Computer, countless older Americans
are discovering the wonderful world
of the Internet every day. Isn’t it time

NEW

Now comes with...

Larger 22-inch hi-resolution
screen - easier to see

16 % more viewing area

Simple navigation - so you
never get lost

Intel® processor - lightning fast

Computer is in the monitor -
No bulky tower

Advanced audio, Better speaker
configuration - easier to hear

Text to Speech translation -
it can even read your
emails to you!

U.S. Based Customer Service

FREE

Automatic
Software Updates

you took part? Call now, and a
patient, knowledgeable product
expert will tell you how you can try
it in your home for 30 days. If you
are not totally satisfied, simply return
it within 30 days for a refund of the
product purchase price. Call today.

• Send & Receive Emails

• Have video chats with family and friends

• Surf the Internet:

Get current weather and news

• Play games on line:

Hundreds to choose from!

Call now toll free and find out
how you can get the new
WOW! Computer.

Mention promotional code 48199
for special introductory pricing.

1 - 877 - 650-4830

iwowu,

80992

BIG ISSUES

committee on Benghazi

SUPPORT

Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala.

■ Roby is a member of the Benghazi
committee and served as chairman
of the House Armed Services
Subcommittee on Oversight and
Investigations.

The terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, was a
terrible tragedy, and we still mourn the four
Americans who were brutally murdered that day.
Many people ask why further investigation is need-
ed after previous inquiries into the matter.

The select committee was
formed because there are still
questions about the security
situation leading up to the
attack, our response during it,
and the administration’s
various public explanations in
the aftermath.

Recently we learned that the
White House withheld important Benghazi docu-
ments from congressional investigators. Congress
has a constitutional responsibility to seek answers
on behalf of the American people about the
executive branch’s activities, and our goal is to
bring every relevant fact to light.

Another reason for the select committee is that
the multi-jurisdictional nature of the issue makes it
difficult to investigate across the existing commit-
tee structure. There are many layers to the story,
involving our intelligence community, the State
Department, our military and, of course, the White
House. While other committees have made inqui-
ries in those areas, no group has had the authority
to investigate all aspects of the events at the same
time. A select committee with broad jurisdiction
will produce a clearer, more complete picture.

Lingering questions about the Benghazi attack,
along with continued White House obstruction and
the narrow scope of existing House committees,
compel us to form this select committee and
continue the search for truth.

However, politics will have no place in this
process. Facts aren’t Republican or Democratic.
Facts are stubbornly impartial, and we are
committed to pursuing them wherever they lead.

OPPOSE

Rep. Steven Horsford,

D-Nev.

■ Horsford is a member of the House
Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform.

The events of Sept. 11, 2012, were tragic.

As members of Congress, we have an obligation
to our country and the families of those killed at
Benghazi to prevent such attacks from happening
again. Unfortunately, the Republican obsession
with Benghazi is not about
providing closure, moving
forward or improving
security. For the House GOP,
it is a tragedy ripe for
manufactured controversy.
That’s the purpose of
the newly created select
committee: not to get to the
truth, but to fan partisan flames.

Thus far, there have been eight reviews
conducted, 25,000 documents produced and
millions of taxpayer dollars spent on hearings.

Arguably the most comprehensive investigation
was led by former U.S. ambassador Thomas
Pickering. He conducted the Accountability
Review Board investigation for the State Depart-
ment and provided recommendations to improve
security overseas. Our focus should be on imple-
menting those recommendations.

For those who believe the truth is clouded
despite exhaustive investigations, the select
committee is not truth-seeking. It provides its
chairman a unilateral authority to issue subpoe-
nas that has been previously abused, no guaran-
teed access to witnesses for Democrats, and no
guaranteed access to records or transcripts.

During the debate, Rep. Louise Slaughter,

D-N.Y., offered an amendment to ensure the select
committee operates fairly. It was rejected, along
with any chance that the committee would serve
a legitimate purpose. As a member of the Over-
sight Committee, I have seen where lopsided
investigations end up: a political circus fueled
by incomplete information.

Select

THE HEART OF THE ISSUE

The House has formed a select
committee to investigate and answer
questions about the Sept 1 1, 2012,
terror attack that killed four Americans
in Libya . Democrats say the review
is unnecessary and partisan .

CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

The Honorable (name), U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510 • Phone: (202) 224-3121

The Honorable (name), U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 • Phone: (202) 225-3121

\2 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

f CElrlT

&U KITES STATES,

XtOFAftiiacM

I Complete Cent
' Design Set^-

spans 150 years! f fe

LIBERTY

e Pi.upiEUS t/rjLr'wr ;Jjj

O * 0S - M

3jp

niijii i

1860-to-date Cent Design Set:

Indian Head Cent -century-old
bronze classic of 1860-1909!

Lincoln Wheat Cent - original
Lincoln cent reverse of 1909-1958

1943 Reprocessed Steel Cent -

struck one year only during WWII

Lincoln Memorial Cent - minted
from 1959-2008 & now obsolete!

100th Anniversary Set - one-
year-only 2009 designs honoring
4 stages in Abraham Lincoln's life

2010 Union Shield Design - first
year of new continuing reverse!

Get a 9-Coin Collectors Set Today...

Celebrate coinage history with a fascinating 9-coin set
containing one of each U.S. cent design from 1860 to date.
Enjoy hard-to-find older coins, special 100th anniversary
Lincolns, and first cent with the new Union Shield design!

SA VE 75% plus FREE Shipping!

Get this historic 9-coin set today for only $2.95 and SAVE
75% off the regular price of $12rQ&, plus Free Shipping.
Order by deadline and also get Littleton's exclusive
Collectors Guide to Lincoln Head Cents - FREE!

You'll also receive our fully illustrated catalog, plus other
fascinating selections from our Free Examination Coins-on-
Approval Service, from which you may purchase any or
none of the coins - return balance in 15 days - with option
to cancel at any time.

Mail coupon today or order online at: www.LittletonCoin.com/specials

FREE Gift!

when you order by deadline
Get Littleton's full-
color Collectors Guide
to Lincoln Head Cents
absolutely FREE!

45-Day Money Back
Guarantee of Satisfaction

You must be completely satisfied with
every purchase you make from Littleton.
If not, simply return it within 45 days
in unaltered condition for a prompt
exchange or refund, whichever you prefer.

r r"jf VCC I p ^ ease senc * me 9-Coin Cent Design Set
\\yj I Lj; for ONLY $2.95 -regularly $1^00, plus
] Free Shipping (limit 5 sets). Also send my FREE Collectors
i Guide to Lincoln Head Cents (one per customer, please).

] Method of payment:

i □ Check or Money Order payable to Littleton Coin Co. □ VISA
i □ MasterCard □American Express □ Discover Network

Card No. Exp. Date /

Name

Please print your complete name and address clearly

Address

Aot#

City

State

Zip

E-Mail

Special Offer for New Customers Only
| Order Deadline: 12:00 Midnight, August 31, 2014 |

How Many Sets (limit 5):

Total Cost at $2.95 per set: $_

Add Custom Cent
Display Folders and
SPECIALS SAVE 28% at
savings y $2.50 each

(regularly $3*49): $_

Shipping & Handling: $ FREE!

Total Amount: $

Please send coupon to:

Dept. 2KH407

\ Littleton 1 309 Mt. Eustis Road
Coin Com pany® Littleton NH 03561-3737

America's Favorite Coin Source
TRUSTED SINCE 1945

The Journal of the American Medical
Association (JAMA) has called for the
eventual phasing out of the universal
handshake in health-care facilities. Citing
the possibilities of transmitting everything
from the common cold to C. difficile , it
recommends alternative, noncontact
greetings such as a wave, a hand over the
heart or - if contact is really necessary -
perhaps a fist bump.

LIVING WELL

BY MICHELLE GIBEAULT TRAUB

Millions of Americans suffer, often in silence, from digestive
distress. Bloating, gas, heartburn, constipation and diarrhea are
common complaints, causing many to resign themselves to a life
of discomfort. But that doesn't have to be the case. There are
simple solutions to digestive woes that can begin as soon as your
next meal.

Shake the
handshake habit

Careful with
pooch’s smooches

We've heard it a million times, and some
of us may even believe it: "Dogs' mouths
are actually cleaner than humans'."

Julie Torruellas-Garcia, a microbiologist
at Nova Southeastern University, says
that's just not true.

In a recent report from CBS' Miami
affiliate, lab-tested saliva samples from
dogs proved to be anything but clean. One
culture dish "had so many bacteria mixed
together that it was difficult to test,"
Torruellas-Garcia says. The cultures
revealed evidence of Neisseria, a bacteria
linked to STDs, pneumonia and plaque.

Really, it should be common sense, she
adds: "Think about where a dog tends
to lick."

Living Well is designed to provide
general information. It is not intended
to be, nor is it, medical advice. Readers
should consult their physicians when
they have health problems.

Slow down. Many of us eat on the go, which is cause for trouble.
Digestion is an intricate process. The digestive tract is
approximately 30 feet long, and it can take food more than two
days to make that journey. When the body is rushed or under
stress, the nervous system diverts blood flow from the digestive
tract, making it harder for digestion to occur. An easy remedy is to
simply slow down and take a few deep breaths before a meal.

Deep breathing helps the body relax while enabling the brain to
register the aromas of the food. Those aromas alert the stomach to
produce digestive juices. Making mealtime special - say, with
candles and soft music - can encourage the relaxed state that is
best for digestion.

Chew thoroughly. The stomach and intestines often get the
spotlight when discussing digestion. But we forget that the mouth
does much of the hard work. Our teeth grind each bite of food into
small pieces, mixing them with enzymes to kick-start nutrient
breakdown. Rushing the process can lead to bloating and gas, as
air is more likely to be introduced. A small study determined that
when people doubled the number of chews they made, they ate 15
percent less food.

Know thine enemy. Since we tend to be in such a hurry when
eating, we may not even realize that certain foods are the cause of
our pain and discomfort. Some of the usual suspects include
carbonated beverages, coffee, alcohol, fatty or fried foods, onions,
and spicy or acidic foods such as chili peppers, chocolate or citrus
fruits. Artificial sweeteners (sugar alcohols) can also cause gas and
bloating when consumed in excess. Watch for these in sugar-free
candies and gums; they have names ending in "ol" (i.e., sorbitol,
xylitol). In addition, many people have intolerances or sensitivities
to common ingredients such as gluten (wheat), dairy, corn, sugar
and soy. The best way to know for sure how a food or ingredient is
affecting you is to keep a daily diary of what you eat and how it
makes you feel.

Stay hydrated. Slowing down and avoiding foods that are
difficult to digest are great ways to prevent problems. Staying

See ENEMY on page 18

14 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

BREO ELLIPTA can help improve your breathing.

• Once-daily BREO helps increase airflow from the lungs for a
full 24 hours. Your results may vary.

• In patients with a history of COPD flare-ups, BREO helps
reduce the risk of future flare-ups. This is when symptoms
are worse for several days and reguire steroids (oral or
injectable), antibiotics, and/or a hospital stay. BREO is
not for use to treat sudden symptoms of COPD and won't
replace a rescue inhaler.

Talk to your doctor about BREO, and visit
myBRE0.com or call I- 8 OO- 6 OO-BREO (2736)
to get your first full prescription free.*

(COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)

APPROVED USES

BREO ELLIPTA is approved for adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both.

BREO ELLIPTA is a prescription medicine that is used long term as 1 inhalation
1 time each day to improve symptoms of COPD for better breathing and to
reduce the number of flare-ups (the worsening of your COPD symptoms for
several days). BREO is not for use to treat sudden symptoms of COPD and
won't replace a rescue inhaler. BREO is not for the treatment of asthma.

brect,

3fl

BP^EO® ELLIPTA®

(fluticasone furcate 100 meg and
vilanterol 25 meg inhalation powder)

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

• BREO ELLIPTA is only approved for use in COPD. BREO is NOT
approved for use in asthma.

• People with asthma who take long-acting beta 2 -adrenergic agonist
(LABA) medicines, such as vilanterol (one of the medicines in
BREO), have an increased risk of death from asthma problems. It

is not known if LABA medicines increase the risk of death in people
with COPD.

• Call your healthcare provider if breathing problems worsen over
time while using BREO.

• Get emergency medical care if your breathing problems worsen
quickly, or if you use your rescue inhaler but it does not relieve your
breathing problems.

• Do not use BREO to treat sudden symptoms of COPD. Always have a
rescue inhaler with you to treat sudden symptoms.

• BREO is not for the treatment of asthma. It is not known if BREO
is safe and effective in people with asthma.

• Do not use BREO if you have severe allergy to milk proteins or any of the
ingredients in BREO. Ask your healthcare provider if you are not sure.

• Do not use BREO more often than prescribed.

• Do not take BREO with other medicines that contain a LABA for any
reason. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you
take and about all of your health conditions.

• BREO can cause serious side effects, including:

- pneumonia. People with COPD have a higher chance of getting
pneumonia. BREO may increase the chance of getting pneumonia. Call
your healthcare provider if you notice any of the following symptoms:
increase in mucus (sputum) production; change in mucus color; fever;
chills; increased cough; increased breathing problems

- thrush (fungal infection) in mouth and/or throat. You may develop
a yeast infection {Candida albicans) in your mouth or throat. Rinse
your mouth with water without swallowing after use to help prevent
thrush in your mouth and throat.

- serious allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider or get
emergency medical care if you get any of the following symptoms of a
serious allergic reaction: rash; hives; swelling of the face, mouth, and
tongue; breathing problems

( serious side effects, cont'd)

- sudden breathing problems immediately after inhaling your
medicine

- effects on heart: increased blood pressure; a fast and/or irregular
heartbeat; chest pain

- effects on nervous system: tremor; nervousness

- reduced adrenal function. This can happen when you stop taking an oral
corticosteroid (such as prednisone) and start taking a medicine containing
an inhaled corticosteroid (such as BREO). Symptoms include: feeling tired;
lack of energy; weakness; nausea and vomiting; low blood pressure.

- changes in laboratory blood values (sugar, potassium)

- weakened immune system and increased chance of getting infections
(immunosuppression). You should avoid exposure to chickenpox and
measles, and, if exposed, consult your healthcare provider without delay.
Worsening of existing tuberculosis, fungal, bacterial, viral, or parasitic
infections, or herpes infection of the eye (ocular herpes simplex) may occur.

- bone thinning or weakness (osteoporosis)

- eye problems including glaucoma and cataracts. You should have
regular eye exams while using BREO.

• Common side effects of BREO include:

-runny nose and sore throat

- upper respiratory tract infection

- headache

- thrush in mouth and/or throat. Rinse your mouth without swallowing
after use to help prevent this

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs

to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

*Restrictions apply. See myBRE0.com for eligibility rules.

Please see Brief Summary of Prescribing Information for
BREO ELLIPTA on adjacent pages.

7\K

BREO ELLIPTA was developed in collaboration with Theravance

yevu

If you don’t have prescription coverage
and can’t afford your medicines,
visit or call

( 1 - 866 - 475 - 3678 )

BREO® ellipta®

(fluticasone furoate 100 meg and

vilanterol 25 meg inhalation powder) BRIEF SUMMARY

Read the Medication Guide that comes with
BREO ELLIPTA ( BREE-oh-ee-LIP-ta ) before you
start using it and each time you get a refill.
There may be new information. This summary
does not take the place of talking to your
healthcare provider about your medical
condition or treatment.

What is the most important information
I should know about BREO ELLIPTA?

BREO ELLIPTA is only approved for use in
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). BREO ELLIPTA is NOT approved for
use in asthma.

BREO ELLIPTA can cause serious side
effects, including:

• People with asthma who take long-acting
beta 2 -adrenergic agonist (LABA) medicines,
such as vilanterol (one of the medicines
in BREO ELLIPTA), have an increased risk
of death from asthma problems. It is not
known whether fluticasone furoate, the other
medicine in BREO ELLIPTA, reduces the risk
of death from asthma problems seen with
LABA medicines.

• It is not known if LABA medicines, such
as vilanterol (one of the medicines in
BREO ELLIPTA), increase the risk of death
in people with COPD.

• Call your healthcare provider if breathing
problems worsen over time while using
BREO ELLIPTA. You may need different
treatment.

• Get emergency medical care if:

• your breathing problems worsen quickly

• you use your rescue inhaler, but it does not
relieve your breathing problems.

What is BREO ELLIPTA?

BREO ELLIPTA combines an inhaled
corticosteroid (ICS) medicine, fluticasone
furoate, and a LABA medicine, vilanterol.

• ICS medicines, such as fluticasone furoate
(one of the medicines in BREO ELLIPTA), help
to decrease inflammation in the lungs.
Inflammation in the lungs can lead to
breathing problems.

• LABA medicines, such as vilanterol (one of
the medicines in BREO ELLIPTA), help the
muscles around the airways in your lungs
stay relaxed to prevent symptoms such as
wheezing, cough, chest tightness, and
shortness of breath. These symptoms can
happen when the muscles around the
airways tighten. This makes it hard to
breathe.

BREO ELLIPTA is used for COPD. COPD is a
chronic lung disease that includes chronic
bronchitis, emphysema, or both. BREO
ELLIPTA is a prescription medicine that is
used long term as 1 inhalation 1 time each day
to improve symptoms of COPD for better
breathing and to reduce the number of flare-
ups (the worsening of your COPD symptoms
for several days).

• BREO ELLIPTA is not for use to treat
sudden symptoms of COPD. Always have
a rescue inhaler (an inhaled, short-acting
bronchodilator) with you to treat sudden
symptoms. If you do not have a rescue
inhaler, contact your healthcare provider to
have one prescribed for you.

• BREO ELLIPTA is not for the treatment of
asthma. It is not known if BREO ELLIPTA
is safe and effective in people with
asthma.

• BREO ELLIPTAshould not be used in children.
It is not known if BREO ELLIPTA is safe and
effective in children.

Who should not use BREO ELLIPTA?

Do not use BREO ELLIPTA if you:

• have a severe allergy to milk proteins. Ask
your healthcare provider if you are not sure.

• are al lerg ic to f I uticasone furoate , vi lanterol ,
or any of the ingredients in BREO ELLIPTA.
See ‘‘What are the ingredients in BREO
ELLIPTA?” below for a complete list of
ingredients.

What should I tell my healthcare provider
before using BREO ELLIPTA?

Tell your healthcare provider about all of
your health conditions, including if you:

• have heart problems

• have high blood pressure

• have seizures

• have thyroid problems

• have diabetes

• have liver problems

• have weak bones (osteoporosis)

• have an immune system problem

• have eye problems such as glaucoma or
cataracts

• are allergic to any of the ingredients in BREO
ELLIPTA, any other medicines, or food
products. See “What are the ingredients
in BREO ELLIPTA?” below for a complete list
of ingredients.

• have any type of viral, bacterial, or fungal
infection

• are exposed to chickenpox or measles or
have been around anyone who has
chickenpox or measles

• have any other medical conditions

• are pregnant or planning to become pregnant.
It is not known if BREO ELLIPTA may harm
your unborn baby.

• are breastfeeding. It is not known if the
medicines in BREO ELLIPTA pass into your
milk and if they can harm your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the
medicines you take, including prescription
and non-prescription medicines, vitamins, and
herbal supplements. BREO ELLIPTA and
certain other medicines may interact with each
other. This may cause serious side effects.
Especially, tell your healthcare provider if you
take antifungal or anti-HIV medicines.

Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of
them to show your healthcare provider and
pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How should I use BREO ELLIPTA?

Read the step-by-step instructions for
using BREO ELLIPTA in the Medication Guide.

• Do not use BREO ELLIPTA unless your
healthcare provider has taught you how
to use the inhaler and you understand
how to use it correctly.

• Use BREO ELLIPTA exactly as prescribed.
Do not use BREO ELLIPTA more often than
prescribed.

• Use 1 inhalation of BREO ELLIPTA 1 time
each day. Use BREO ELLIPTA at the same
time each day.

• If you miss a dose of BREO ELLIPTA, take it
as soon as you remember. Do not take more
than 1 inhalation per day. Take your next
dose at your usual time. Do not take 2 doses
at one time.

• If you take too much BREO ELLIPTA, call your
healthcare provider and get medical help
right away if you have any unusual symptoms,
such as worsening shortness of breath, chest
pain, increased heart rate, or shakiness.

• Do not use other medicines that contain
a LABA for any reason. Ask your healthcare
provider or pharmacist if any of your other
medicines are LABA medicines.

• Do not stop using BREO ELLIPTA unless
told to do so by your healthcare provider
because your symptoms might get worse.
Your healthcare provider will change your
medicines as needed.

• BREO ELLIPTA does not relieve sudden
symptoms. Always have a rescue inhaler with
you to treat sudden symptoms. If you do not
have a rescue inhaler, call your healthcare
provider to have one prescribed for you.

• Call your healthcare provider or get medical
care right away if:

• your breathing problems get worse

• you need to use your rescue inhaler more
often than usual

• your rescue inhaler does not work as well
to relieve your symptoms

• you need to use 4 or more inhalations of
your rescue inhaler in 24 hours for 2 or
more days in a row

• you use 1 whole canister of your rescue
inhaler in 8 weeks

What are the possible side effects with
BREO ELLIPTA?

BREO ELLIPTA can cause serious side
effects, including:

• See “What is the most important information
I should know about BREO ELLIPTA?”

• pneumonia. People with COPD have a
higher chance of getting pneumonia. BREO
ELLIPTA may increase the chance of getting
pneumonia. Call your healthcare provider if
you notice any of the following symptoms:

• increase in mucus (sputum) production

• change in mucus color

• fever

• chills

• increased cough

• increased breathing problems

(Continued on the next page)

LIVING WELL

BlLEO® ellipta®

(fluticasone furoate 100 meg and

vilanterol 25mcg inhalation powder) BRIEF SUMMARY (cont’d)

(serious side effects, cont’d)

• thrush (fungal infection) in mouth and throat. You may develop
a yeast infection (Candida albicans) in your mouth or throat. Rinse
your mouth with water without swallowing after using BREO
ELLIPTA to help prevent thrush in your mouth and throat.

• serious allergic reactions. Call your healthcare provider or get
emergency medical care if you get any of the following symptoms
of a serious allergic reaction:

• rash • swelling of the face, mouth, and tongue

• hives • breathing problems

• sudden breathing problems immediately after inhaling your
medicine

• effects on heart

• increased blood pressure

• a fast and/or irregular heartbeat

• chest pain

• effects on nervous system

• tremor • nervousness

• reduced adrenal function (adrenal insufficiency). Adrenal
insufficiency is a condition in which the adrenal glands do not make
enough steroid hormones. This can happen when you stop taking
oral corticosteroid medicines (such as prednisone) and start taking
a medicine containing an inhaled corticosteroid (such as BREO
ELLIPTA). When your body is under stress from fever, trauma (such
as a car accident), infection, surgery, or worse COPD symptoms,
adrenal insufficiency can get worse and may cause death.
Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include:

• feeling tired (fatigue) • nausea and vomiting

• lack of energy • low blood pressure

• weakness

• changes in laboratory blood values (sugar, potassium)

• weakened immune system and increased chance of getting
infections (immunosuppression)

• bone thinning or weakness (osteoporosis)

• eye problems including glaucoma and cataracts. You should
have regular eye exams while using BREO ELLIPTA.

Common side effects of BREO ELLIPTA include:

• runny nose and sore throat

• upper respiratory tract infection

• headache

• thrush in the mouth and/or throat. Rinse your mouth without
swallowing after use to help prevent this.

Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you
or that does not go away.

These are not all the side effects with BREO ELLIPTA. Ask your
healthcare provider or pharmacist for more information.

Call yourdoctorfor medical advice about side effects. You may report
side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1 088.

What are the ingredients in BREO ELLIPTA?

Active ingredients: fluticasone furoate, vilanterol

Inactive ingredients: lactose monohydrate (contains milk proteins),

magnesium stearate

Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for additional information
about BREO ELLIPTA. You can also contact the company that makes
BREO ELLIPTA (toll free) at 1-888-825-5249 or at www.myBREO.com.

BREO and ELLIPTA are trademarks of GlaxoSmithKline.

BREO ELLIPTA was developed in collaboration with Theravance

GlaxoSmithKline

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

BREO MG

The need for
ZZZZs

Sleep is when the body produces
hormones to repair cells and fight off
illness, so a lack of it can leave a person
susceptible to everything from diabetes
to cancer. But quality sleep is about
more than just crawling into bed.

University of Pennsylvania sleep
researcher Michael Grandner believes
that physical activity is key. How much
and what type depends on the
individual, but he recommends 30 to 45
minutes every day.

Also, evidence suggests that giving
your brain a good workout can help
you become tired, he adds. But there's
a difference between mentally taxing
and emotionally taxing activities.

"Stress makes it harder to get to
sleep, harder to stay asleep and harder
to get back to sleep once you've woken
up," Grandner says. "It's important to
take enough time, so that when you go
to bed your mind isn't still dealing with
the issues of the day."

Research conducted by Masashi
Yanagisawa of the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center indicates
that mental attitude in the hours before
sleep matters. Were you happy to be
awake, or reluctant? Your brain
remembers how long you've been
awake and how much sleep you need,
he says. If you're in the reluctant group,
you may need a lot more sleep to
recover.

To make the most of the sleep you do
get, avoid too much alcohol, caffeine or
tobacco in the evening, and avoid
bright lights when trying to sleep.

"If you do wake up during the night,
don't linger in bed," Grandner adds.
"This will help you sleep better on
subsequent nights, rather than training
your body that bed equals awake."

LIVING WELL

ENEMY

hydrated every day by drinking four to eight cups of water - or
enough fluids to keep your urine pale - and consuming ample
fiber (20 to 30 grams) from whole grains, fruits and vegetables are
additional ways to ensure that food moves smoothly through the
digestive tract. Encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria can
also assist your body in attaining the maximum nutrients from
foods. Good bacteria can be consumed through probiotics in
supplement form, or found naturally in yogurt and fermented
foods such as sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi.

Consider seeing a specialist. "Decreased stomach acid
production, or a deficit of digestive enzymes, can also adversely
affect digestion and lead to symptoms of gas or bloating,"
registered dietitian Sonya Angelone says. "Finding the root cause
of the discomfort is important to correct the problem instead of
just managing the symptoms." Consulting with a dietitian,
naturopath or gastroenterologist may be necessary. Such
experts can assess your individual situation and help you
rediscover the joy in eating.

Michelle Gibeault Traub is a registered dietitian and health writer.

Online resources

The American Gastroenterological Association's Patient Center

www.gastro.org/patient-center

The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC)

digestive.niddk.nih.gov

VA curbs MRSA
infections in hospitals,
long-term care facilities

In early 2007, VA began an infection-control
program throughout its 153 hospitals to reduce
the number of patients contracting MRSA
(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
infections, a matter of growing public concern.
In January 2009, the program was expanded to
the 133 VA long-term care facilities nationwide.

In 2011, VA reported that the program had
resulted in a 62 percent drop in the rate of
infections caused by MRSA in intensive care
units, and a 45 percent drop in MRSA
prevalence in other hospital areas, including
surgical and rehabilitation units. A recent study
in the American Journal of Infection Control
shows that over 42 months, there was a
36 percent decline in MRSA infections in
long-term care facilities as well.

"Our rates are very low," says Dr. Martin E.
Evans, director of the MRSA program at
Lexington (Ky.) VA Medical Center.

"Around 70 percent of our facilities have
no MSRA infections each month, which is
quite striking." The goal is to get every
site to zero, he adds.

In medical facilities, MRSA infections
can lead to pneumonia. Patients can
also develop bloodstream and wound
infections. MRSA does not respond
well to antibiotics, which is what
makes it so serious and often
life-threatening.

Evans says VA is expanding
its program to other
superbugs and bad
bacteria.

Media Bakery

Quality questions for quality care

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ) reminds us that good health often depends
on good communication. "Asking questions and
providing information to your doctor and other care
providers can improve your care," it explains. "Talking
with your doctor builds trust and leads to better
results, quality, safety and satisfaction."

Communication can also help us feel at ease when
choosing a course of care. "One of the best ways to
communicate with your doctor and health-care team
is by asking questions," according to AHRQ. So go to
your physician armed with questions that will help
him or her design care that works for you. Here are a
few good ones:

■ What is the test for?

■ How many times have you performed
this procedure?

■ When will I get the results?

■ Why do I need this treatment?

■ Are there any alternatives?

■ What are the possible complications?

■ Which hospital is best for my needs?

■ How do you spell the name of that drug?

■ Are there any side effects?

■ Will this medicine interact with ones I'm taking?

@ www. ahrq.go v/patien ts-cons um ers/ index. html

18 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Safety never felt SO Q OOCf

SAFEWSTEP

Walk-In Tub Co.

Safe Step Tubs have
received the Ease-of-Use
Commendation from the
Arthritis Foundation

A Safe Step Walk-In Tub will offer independence to those seeking a safe and easy way to bathe
right in the convenience and comfort of their own home. Constructed and built right here in America
for safety and durability from the ground up, and with more standard features than any other tub.

✓ A carefully engineered dual hydro-massage and air bubble jets- both strategically placed
to target sore muscles and joints, offering life-changing therapeutic relief

y A NEW heated seat providing warmth from

beginning to end SaF^VoTEP

y The highest quality tub complete with a most WALK- 1 INI T LJ B OCX

comprehensive lifetime warranty on the entire tub WWW.SafeStepTub.com

y Top-of-the-line installation and service, all included at one low, affordable price

You’ll agree - there just isn’t a better walk-in tub on the market.

So take your first step towards feeling great and stay in the home you love. Give us a call today!

For your FREE information kit and DVD,
and our Senior Discounts, Call Today Toll-Free

1 - 800 - 293-2896

www. SafeStepTu b.com

$750 OFF

when you mention this ad

for a limited time only

Call Toll-Free 1-800-293-2896

VETERANS UPDATE

Congress OKs temporary private care

BY TOM PHILPOTT

In response to a spreading scandal over patient
wait times at VA hospitals and clinics, both the
House and Senate in June voted to allow many
more thousands of veterans temporary access to
private-sector health care at government expense.

The House unanimously passed the Veterans
Access to Care Act (H.R. 4810), an emergency plan
to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to
pay for non-VA care if veterans enrolled in VA
health care cannot get appointments within
wait-time goals or if they live more than 40 miles
from a VA medical facility. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla.,
chairman of the House
Committee on Veterans’

Affairs, sponsored the bill.

The Senate passed almost
identical language as part of
a more comprehensive
benefits bill. Sens. Bernie
Sanders, I-Vt., VA committee
chairman, and John McCain,

R-Ariz., co-sponsored the
Veterans’ Access to Care
Through Choice,

Accountability and
Transparency Act of 2014
(S. 2450).

Last year, VA spent
10 percent of its health budget - $4.8 billion - on
private-sector care. That covered 15.3 million
outpatient visits, a 72 percent increase since 2008.
Eligibility for non-VA care, however, is complex.
Access is based on individual circumstances and
VA pre-authorization is usually required.

Worried that patients are dying awaiting timely
care, Congress wants those hurdles lowered at
least temporarily. Both the House and Senate
language on easing access to private-sector care
would sunset in two years.

The American Legion helped draft the language
and the two-year limit, said Peter Gaytan,
executive director of the Legion’s Washington
office. The Legion and other veterans service
organizations want Congress to keep its primary
focus on improving the VA integrated health-care
system. They oppose calls by some lawmakers and
lobbyists to privatize VA health care.

Spurring Congress to find ways to improve
access are results of a flash audit of scheduling
practices at VA hospitals and clinics nationwide,

and an investigation by the VA inspector general.
Both confirmed what a physician whistle-blower
revealed last spring: widespread data manipulation
of medical appointments at VA facilities. The
findings showed patient wait times underreported
at 70 or more facilities.

By gaming an archaic and poorly monitored
appointments system, administrators or staff
pretended that performance goals were being met.
This in turn secured for them speedier promotions
or bigger bonuses - at the expense of veterans
needing care.

One need not question
then-VA Secretary Eric
Shinseki’s claim that he was
blindsided by these practices
to conclude that the Legion
was right to call for his
resignation. As the scandal
grew, Shinseki’s May 30
resignation became a critical
first step to address a crisis
of confidence by patients,
Congress and the public.

One of the most damning
pieces of evidence of a
leadership meltdown was an
April 26, 2010, internal memo
titled “Inappropriate Scheduling Practices.”

Written by William Schoenhard, then deputy
undersecretary for health administration and
maintenance, it had been sent to VA health
network directors. The nine-page memo, Gaytan
said, showed that VA leaders knew not only that
data was being manipulated, but how it was done,
and had directed supervisors to stop. Yet the
abuses continued.

Acting VA Secretary Sloan D. Gibson and his
deputies conceded that there had been “a systemic
and totally unacceptable lack of integrity” in VA
scheduling practices. As the FBI began criminal
investigations, Gibson announced immediate steps
to improve access to care, including more medical
staff overtime, expansion of clinic hours, and an
additional $300 million to be spent through
September on patient referrals to private-sector
health-care providers.

Tom Philpott has been covering military personnel
and veterans issues for more than 30 years .

World War II veteran Harley Parker, 93, center,
seeks help at The American Legion's crisis center
at Post 1 in Phoenix on June 10. monim Republic

20 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

harbor!
Height

QUALITY TOOLS LOWEST PRICES

NO PURCHASE
REQUIRED!

NO PURCHASE REQUIRED ,^N0 PURCHASE REQUIRED lr ^N0 PURCHASE REQUIRED,

FREEiFREEiFREE!

7 FUNCTION
DIGITAL
MULTIMETER

ITEM 90899

PITTSBURGH™

1" X 25 FT..,
TAPE 11
MEASURE II

3-1/2" SUPER BRIGHT |
NINE LED ,
ALUMINUM 1
FLASHLIGHT ■

ITEM 69080 ||

69030/69031/47737

Item 69080 shown

69052/69111

Item 65020 shown

Jl,

| LIMIT 1 - Cannot be used with other discount coupon. Coupon good at our retail
stores only. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be
_ presented. Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day.

1 in i mi inn ii i h im i >■

LIMIT 1 -

stores only,
presented.

Cannot be used with other discount coupon. Coupon good at our retail 1 1 LIMIT 1 - Cannot be used with other discount coupon. Coupon good at our retail I
Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be stores only. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be
Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day._ _ presented. Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one FREE GIFT coupon per customer per day. _

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

25329735

25374870

WHY A FREE GIFT?

Because once you see
our GREAT QUALITY and
RIDICULOUSLY LOW PRICES,
you'll never buy tools
anywhere else!

LIMIT 1 - Save 20% on any one item purchased at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. 'Cannot
be used with other discount, coupon, gift cards, Inside Track Club membership, extended service plans or on any of the
following: compressors, generators, tool storage or carts, welders, floor jacks, Towable Ride-On Trencher, open box items,
in-store event or parking lot sale items. Not valid on prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase date with original
receipt. Non-transferable. Original coupon must be presented. Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

iii uni i

75327 1 -I 1

llll

We Are Impressed With the Quality.
The Price is Incredible"

-Caf Craft Magazine

caue 44" 13 DRAWER)
Vt INDUSTRIAL QUALITY;
$330 ROLLER CABINET*

> 2633 lb. Capacity ■

• Weighs 245 1

• Super High
Gloss Finish

68784 LOT NO. 68784

shown 69387/62270

REG. i
PRICE i
$699.9 '

The Perfect Compressor with Powerful
Quiet and Consistent Airflow. . .

Plus we Love the Low Price"

-Street Trucks Magazine

2.5 HP, 21 GALLON
125 PSI VERTICAL
AIR COMPRESSOR
CENTRALPNEUMATIC

UF LOT NO. 67847
-- 61454/61693

AUTO-DARKENING
WELDING HELMET WITH
BLUE FLAME DESIGN

[illlWELDING

^ 4-1/2" HEAVY DUTY j
ANGLE GRINDER;

LOT NO. i
91223/60372 '

SAVE

50 %

$ 369 9 ?

$ 149 "!

US*GENERALB

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll ! llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

Item 67847

shown REG. PRICE $219.99

Item

91214

shown

LOT NO. 91214/61610
REG.
I PRICE
$89.99

$4499,

$1899

7530791

- after30 days from original purchase
st. Non-transferable. Original coupon
‘ — ner customer per day.

7539051 S

limit b - (food at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling .

used with otherdiscount or coupon or prior purchases after30 days from original purchase
with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon
must be presented. **■“ * *' ***■"'* 1 * •*—

used with other discountor coupon or prior purchases after 30 d... „

with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon
— * be presented. Valid through 11/15/14. 1 1 A ~

2.4' COLOR LCD

"“"“"“HU

=N=recH. '

LOT NO. 67979/61839/62359 ]

Requires four AA
batteries (included).

PITTSBURGH A

Item

67979

shown

*W.

588*

■as

LOT NO.
68048/69227/62116

; RAPID PUMP®

3 TON

1 HEAVY DUTY
! STEEL FLOOR JACK

MHlWIIIIIl™!..

LIMIT 4 - Good at our stores or narbcrFreight-com o^b^caUing 80^,4^ rchas e j ^

used with other discount or coupon ( or P™^. J last . Non-transferable. Original coupon , u .
with original receipt. Offer good ^^^hi e supplies ^ coupon pe r customer p_e r day.
must be presented. Valid througn i w i in ___ _ — — -

$7499

REG.

PRICE

$159.99

Weighs 74 lbs.

SAVE

$85

12" SLIDING COMPOUND I
‘ DOUBLE-BEVEL MITER |

I SAW WITH LASER GUIDE!

LOT NO. 69684 1
" 61776/61969/619701

Item

-SI REG. PRICE $><S!

iimiilHSlIlP 1 ® 1 ®®

must be presented. Valid through 11/15/in. Limit , p aa—f

36%

•u.

REG.
PRICE
$29.99

llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll '

75330065

LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be I
used with otherdiscountorcoupon or priorpurchasesafter30daysfrom original purchase |
with original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon .
must be presented. Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 1

4000 PEAK/;

3200 RUNNING WATTS'
sum 6.5 HP (212 CC) !
GAS GENERATORS!

Hjj N° is e LOT NO. 68528/69676/69729
5 ZOu Leve LOT NO. 69675/69728

CALIFORNIA ONLY

PREDATOR

Item 68528 shown

$ 299 "

REG. PRICE $499.9

753301 SO
LIMIT 5 - Good at our stores or HarborFreight.com or by calling 800-423-2567. Cannot be I
used with otherdiscount or coupon or prior purchases after 30 days from original purchase |
":h original receipt. Offer good while supplies last. Non-transferable. Original coupon .
ist be presented. Valid through 11/15/14. Limit one coupon per customer per day. 1

Over 25 Million Satisfied Customers • No Hassle Return Policy • 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
500 Stores Nationwide • HarborFreight.com • 800-423-2567 • Lifetime Warranty On All Hand Tools

Fisher House CEO calls his foundation's mission 'beautiful in its simplicity.'

BY MATT GRILLS

A s chairman and CEO of Fisher House, Ken
Fisher has heard from thousands of military
and veteran families, all grateful for a free place to
stay while loved ones receive medical care.

There’s one note, though, he cherishes most.

“It says, ‘Dear Ken’ - not Mr. Fisher, I don’t like
that - ‘thank you for allowing me to spend Christ-
mas with my son.’ That’s it.

“Can you imagine?” he says. “What would have
happened if this program wasn’t there and these
parents couldn’t afford a hotel? What if they
couldn’t fly there because their government travel
orders had already been used? They might have
had to drive for a week and pay for gas, too.”

Fisher believes such families have sacrificed
enough, especially since 9/11. Since taking over
the foundation, he’s worked with DoD and VA to
learn where needs are greatest, doubling the
number of Fisher Houses to 64.

Zachary Fisher, a real estate developer and one
of only two Americans to be named an honorary
veteran, built the first two Fisher Houses in 1990.
He died in 1999, but his family - chiefly Ken, his
grandnephew - has expanded the Fisher legacy.

A senior partner at Fisher Brothers, Ken oversees
the leasing, management and marketing of
5 million square feet of Class A commercial space
in midtown Manhattan. He is co-chairman of the
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, and in 2007 he
served on the President’s Commission on Care for
America’s Returning Wounded Warriors.

This month he will speak at The American
Legion’s national convention in Charlotte, N.C.

The American Legion Magazine spoke with
Fisher about the charity’s growth at home and
abroad, why the Fisher House program works, and
its effort to cover military death benefits during
last year’s partial government shutdown.

22 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

The Fisher House concept is 25 years old.

How did its network of comfort homes begin?

The Fisher family’s involvement with the mili-
tary and the philanthropy that we do started with
USS Intrepid. It was brought to my uncle’s attention
that after so many years of service the ship was
essentially going to be sold as scrap metal. Zach
found out and said it was a piece of history and
should be preserved. So he worked with the Navy
and a few well-connected people and was able to
save it from the scrapheap. It was brought to New
York around 1981 and became not only a center-
piece honoring the military but the catalyst behind
the West Side revival.

A lot of big names were helping him, but Zach
was the one who provided the seed money. It was
his determination and drive that really made it
possible. He wanted to do more for the military. So
he made a phone call to Pauline Trost, who was
married to Adm. Carlisle Trost, then the chief of
naval operations. She would go to Bethesda from
time to time to see troops in that hospital and
noticed that families would come into the lobby
with tons of luggage, no place to put it, no place to
go. She told Zach that he should consider some-
thing along the lines of building housing for
families to stay in if their loved ones are hospital-
ized. He thought that was an incredible idea and,
in typical Zach Fisher form, reached into his
pocket and built the first four Fisher Houses - first
at Bethesda, shortly after that Walter Reed, the one
at Brooke Army Medical Center and then one at
Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Now, Zach had to work with the government in
terms of how this was going to be done. But his
only condition was that there had to be no charge.
Then the need started to grow. Everybody wanted
a Fisher House. It became like a badge of honor. So
they formed the foundation, and it became the
seed of the big tree that Fisher House is today.

With 64 houses now in operation, what goes
into the decision to build a new one?

We don’t just build a house in a place just
because we have the money. We work with the
surgeons general, we work with VA. They tell us
where they think the needs are going to be the
greatest, and that’s where we go.

This was probably one of the first working
partnerships between the government and the
private sector. The government gives the land to us

opposite: Fisher House Chairman and CEO Ken Fisher carries on
the legacy of his great-uncle, Zachary Fisher. Photo by Amy C. Elliott

and we build the house using our skill set, which
is construction and development. Zach built them,
then donated them to whichever branch of the
military they served. They in turn would agree to
operate, staff and maintain the houses in perpetu-
ity. Once the houses were done we were able to
move on to the next project, the next community,
the next need, and not have to worry about
fundraising for the maintenance. It would have
been a constant effort, and we wouldn’t have
nearly the impact we have today.

We picked our lane using our skill set, took an
unmet need and were able to engineer this part-
nership. In 21 years, our mission has not changed.
One, we do what we do and we do it well. Two, we
don’t waste money. We are not a foundation that
tries to be all things to all people. There will be a
few stray missions, but essentially that is it. Fisher
House is beautiful in its simplicity.

How did 9/11 and the war on terror accelerate
Fisher House’s work?

All of a sudden, Fisher House became a lot more
relevant. We had the first casualties coming back
from Afghanistan, and we knew we were going to
have to ramp up our efforts. We’d already built a
house in Landstuhl, so our first initiative after 9/11
was to build a second house because Germany was
the first stopping point for the catastrophically
wounded. Germany was also the first point for
families to be reunited with their wounded if they
could get there. The typical stay was just a couple
of days and then, depending on the nature of the
wound, they’d be flown back to the States and go
to Walter Reed or Brooke or one of the Level 1
polytrauma centers around the country.

When I took over in 2003, the budget was a
million dollars or something like that, and I said,
“How on earth am I going to pay for all this?” We
were already in the defense bill, but for a very
small amount of money. We managed to stay
there, but it’s never been commensurate with the
kind of capital program we’ve undertaken.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Bits
and pieces of the Fisher House story leaked out,
and people embraced it. There was this wave of
support for military foundations. Some were true
to their missions and honored donations, and some
did not. But there was such an outpouring of
support. People just wanted to give.

The first interview I ever did on television was
with Chris Matthews. We got about 15 minutes,
which at that time was more than we’d ever
gotten. And that really catapulted us into the

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 23

For people with a higher risk of stroke due to

Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) not caused by a heart valve problem

ELIQUIS® (apixaban) is a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of stroke and blood clots in
people who have atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat, not caused by a heart valve problem.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION:

■ Do not stop taking ELIQUIS for atrial fibrillation
without talking to the doctor who prescribed it for
you. Stopping ELIQUIS increases your risk of having
a stroke. ELIQUIS may need to be stopped, prior
to surgery or a medical or dental procedure. Your
doctor will tell you when you should stop taking
ELIQUIS and when you may start taking it again. If
you have to stop taking ELIQUIS, your doctor may
prescribe another medicine to help prevent a blood
clot from forming.

■ ELIQUIS can cause bleeding, which can be serious,

and rarely may lead to death.

■ Get medical help right away if you have any of
these signs or symptoms of bleeding:

- unexpected bleeding, or bleeding that lasts a
long time, such as unusual bleeding from the
gums; nosebleeds that happen often, or
menstrual or vaginal bleeding that is heavier
than normal

- bleeding that is severe or you cannot control

- red, pink, or brown urine; red or black stools
(looks like tar)

- coughing up or vomiting blood or vomit that looks
like coffee grounds

- unexpected pain, swelling, or joint pain; headaches,
feeling dizzy or weak

• You may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take

ELIQUIS and take other medicines that increase your
risk of bleeding, such as aspirin, NSAIDs, warfarin
(COUMADIN®), heparin, SSRIs or SNRIs, and other
blood thinners. Tell your doctor about all medicines,
vitamins and supplements you take. While taking
ELIQUIS, you may bruise more easily and it may
take longer than usual for any bleeding to stop.

■ ELIQUIS is not for patients with artificial heart valves.

■ Spinal or epidural blood clots or bleeding (hematoma).

People who take ELIQUIS, and have medicine
injected into their spinal and epidural area, or have
a spinal puncture have a risk of forming a blood
clot that can cause long-term or permanent loss of
the ability to move (paralysis).

I focused on finding something better
than warfarin.

NOW I TAKE ELIQUIS® (apixaban) FOR 3 GOOD REASONS:

1 ELIQUIS reduced the risk of stroke better than warfarin.

2 ELIQUIS had less major bleeding than warfarin.

3 Unlike warfarin, there’s no routine blood testing.

ELIQUIS and other blood thinners increase the risk of bleeding which can be
serious, and rarely may lead to death.

Ask your doctor if ELIQUIS is right for you.

This risk is higher if, an epidural catheter is placed
in your back to give you certain medicine, you take
NSAIDs or blood thinners, you have a history of
difficult or repeated epidural or spinal punctures.
Tell your doctor right away if you have tingling,
numbness, or muscle weakness, especially in your
legs and feet.

■ Before you take ELIQUIS, tell your doctor if you
have: kidney or liver problems, any other medical
condition, or ever had bleeding problems. Tell
your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding,
or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed.

■ Do not take ELIQUIS if you currently have certain
types of abnormal bleeding or have had a serious
allergic reaction to ELIQUIS. A reaction to ELIQUIS
can cause hives, rash, itching, and possibly
trouble breathing. Get medical help right away if
you have sudden chest pain or chest tightness,
have sudden swelling of your face or tongue,
have trouble breathing, wheezing, or feeling
dizzy or faint.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects
of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/
medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see additional
Important Product Information
on the adjacent page.

Individual results may vary.

Visit ELIQUIS.COM
or call 1-855-ELIQUIS

(apixaban)tabiets 2.5m<

IMPORTANT FACTS about ELIQUIS® (apixaban) tablets Ij^ONLY

The information below does not take the place of talking with your healthcare professional. Only your healthcare
professional knows the specifics of your condition and how ELIQUIS may fit into your overall therapy. Talk to your healthcare
professional if you have any questions about ELIQUIS (pronounced ELL eh kwiss).

What is the most important
information I should know
about ELIQUIS (apixaban)?

For people taking ELIQUIS for
atrial fibrillation: Do not stop
taking ELIQUIS without talking
to the doctor who prescribed
it for you. Stopping ELIQUIS
increases your risk of having
a stroke. ELIQUIS may need to
be stopped, prior to surgery or
a medical or dental procedure.
Your doctor will tell you when
you should stop taking ELIQUIS
and when you may start taking
it again. If you have to stop
taking ELIQUIS, your doctor may
prescribe another medicine to
help prevent a blood clot from
forming.

ELIQUIS can cause bleeding

which can be serious, and
rarely may lead to death. This
is because ELIQUIS is a blood
thinner medicine that reduces
blood clotting.

You may have a higher risk of
bleeding if you take ELIQUIS

and take other medicines that
increase your risk of bleeding,
such as aspirin, nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (called
NSAIDs), warfarin (COUMADIN®),
heparin, selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
or serotonin norepinephrine
reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and
other medicines to help prevent
or treat blood clots.

Tell your doctor if you take any of
these medicines. Ask your doctor
or pharmacist if you are not sure
if your medicine is one listed
above.

While taking ELIQUIS:

• you may bruise more easily

• it may take longer than usual
for any bleeding to stop

Call your doctor or get medical
help right away if you have any
of these signs or symptoms of
bleeding when taking ELIQUIS:

• unexpected bleeding, or
bleeding that lasts a long
time, such as:

• unusual bleeding from the
gums

• nosebleeds that happen
often

• menstrual bleeding or
vaginal bleeding that is
heavier than normal

• bleeding that is severe or you
cannot control

• red, pink, or brown urine

• red or black stools (looks like
tar)

• cough up blood or blood clots

• vomit blood or your vomit
looks like coffee grounds

• unexpected pain, swelling, or
joint pain

• headaches, feeling dizzy or
weak

ELIQUIS (apixaban) is not for
patients with artificial heart
valves.

Spinal or epidural blood clots
or bleeding (hematoma).

People who take a blood thinner
medicine (anticoagulant) like
ELIQUIS, and have medicine
injected into their spinal and
epidural area, or have a spinal
puncture have a risk of forming
a blood clot that can cause
long-term or permanent loss of
the ability to move (paralysis).
Your risk of developing a spinal
or epidural blood clot is higher if:

• a thin tube called an epidural
catheter is placed in your back
to give you certain medicine

• you take NSAIDs or a medicine
to prevent blood from clotting

• you have a history of difficult
or repeated epidural or spinal
punctures

• you have a history of problems
with your spine or have had
surgery on your spine

If you take ELIQUIS and receive
spinal anesthesia or have a spinal
puncture, your doctor should
watch you closely for symptoms
of spinal or epidural blood clots
or bleeding. Tell your doctor
right away if you have tingling,
numbness, or muscle weakness,
especially in your legs and feet.

What is ELIQUIS?

ELIQUIS is a prescription medicine
used to:

• reduce the risk of stroke and
blood clots in people who have
atrial fibrillation.

• reduce the risk of forming
a blood clot in the legs and
lungs of people who have just
had hip or knee replacement
surgery.

It is not known if ELIQUIS is safe
and effective in children.

Who should not take ELIQUIS
(apixaban)?

Do not take ELIQUIS if you:

• currently have certain types of
abnormal bleeding

• have had a serious allergic
reaction to ELIQUIS. Ask your
doctor if you are notjure

What should I tell my doctor
before taking ELIQUIS?

Before you take ELIQUIS, tell
your doctor if you:

• have kidney or liver problems

• have any other medical

condition

• have ever had bleeding

problems

• are pregnant or plan to become
pregnant. It is not known if
ELIQUIS will harm your unborn
baby

• are breastfeeding or plan to

breastfeed. It is not known
if ELIQUIS passes into your
breast milk. You and your

doctor should decide if you

will take ELIQUIS or breastfeed.
You should not do both

Tell all of your doctors and
dentists that you are taking
ELIQUIS. They should talk to the
doctor who prescribed ELIQUIS for
you, before you have any surgery,
medical or dental procedure.
Tell your doctor about all the
medicines you take, including
prescription and over-the-counter
medicines, vitamins, and herbal
supplements. Some of your other
medicines may affect the way
ELIQUIS works. Certain medicines
may increase your risk of bleeding
or stroke when taken with ELIQUIS.
How should I take ELIQUIS?
Take ELIQUIS exactly as
prescribed by your doctor. Take
ELIQUIS twice every day with or
without food, and do not change
your dose or stop taking it unless
your doctor tells you to. If you
miss a dose of ELIQUIS, take it as
soon as you remember, and do

not take more than one dose at
the same time. Do not run out

of ELIQUIS (apixaban). Refill
your prescription before you
run out. When leaving the
hospital following hip or knee
replacement, be sure that you
will have ELIQUIS available to
avoid missing any doses. If you
are taking ELIQUIS for atrial
fibrillation, stopping ELIQUIS
may increase your risk of
having a stroke.

What are the possible side
effects of ELIQUIS?

• See “What is the most
important information I
should know about ELIQUIS?”

• ELIQUIS can cause a skin rash
or severe allergic reaction.
Call your doctor or get
medical help right away if
you have any of the following
symptoms:

• chest pain or tightness

• swelling of your face or
tongue

• trouble breathing or
wheezing

• feeling dizzy or faint

Tell your doctor if you have any
side effect that bothers you or
that does not go away.

These are not all of the possible
side effects of ELIQUIS. For more
information, ask your doctor or
pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical
advice about side effects. You
may report side effects to FDA at
1-800-FDA-1088.

This is a brief summary of the
most important information
about ELIQUIS. For more infor-
mation, talk with your doctor or
pharmacist, call 1-855-ELIQUIS
(1-855-354-7847), or go to
www.ELIQUIS.com.

Manufactured by:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Princeton, New Jersey 08543 USA
Marketed by:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Princeton, New Jersey 08543 USA
and

Pfizer Inc

New York, New York 10017 USA

COUMADIN® is a trademark of
Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb | PATIENT ASSISTANCE FOUNDATION

This independent, non-profit organization provides assistance to qualifying patients with financial hardship who
generally have no prescription insurance. Contact 1-800-736-0003 or visit www.bmspaf.org for more information.

© 2014 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
ELIQUIS is a trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Based on 1289808A0 / 1289807A0 / 1298500A0 / 1295958A0

March 2014
432US14BR00770-04-01

Fisher House,
by the numbers

45-60

832

22,000

$35

million

Number of Fisher Houses in
the United States, Great Britain
and Germany

Average length of stay (days)

Average length of stay
for families of combat
casualties (days)

Daily lodging capacity
(families)

Families served in 2013

Savings for families in
lodging, food and
transportation costs in 2013

5.2

million

Number of lodging days
offered since 1990

public eye. But we were still one of the best-kept
secrets in America. The reason why is that I didn’t
feel I would ever have enough to be able to siphon
money off to advertise. I didn’t do direct mail
because that was very expensive and very
wasteful. Advertising on television was just a
dream. One, I couldn’t afford it; and two, even if
I could, I don’t believe in spending a dollar to
make a quarter. It’s completely contrary to the way
I think as a businessman.

Even then, a very high percentage of the donated
dollar went to the program. Today it’s 95 cents. But
the one constant is that the money taken out for
administrative costs can all be tracked, and only
one penny goes toward self-promotion and
fundraising. We’ve been able to capitalize a lot on
word-of-mouth.

Cost savings aside, what else does a Fisher
House stay offer a military or veteran family?

What really makes this program is the support
system that forms inside the house, which has not
changed in 21 years regardless of how big or small
the house. The original houses were 5,000 feet; the

houses we build today for VA can be as much as
16,000 square feet. They are designed to foster
companionship. Each room has its own bathroom,
its own TV, its own desk, its own bed. In that
sense it’s like a hotel, but it’s not. It’s a home,
because if you don’t feel like being alone, you walk
downstairs, you cook dinner with another family,
you do laundry with another family, you sit and
decompress with another family. If you had a bad
day, chances are there’s another family in the
house that already had that day, and they coach
you through it. If you have a good day, they’ll
share your joy, because you’re like one big family.
That’s the brick and mortar that holds the whole
thing together.

Of the many families you’ve met, is there one
encounter that’s stayed with you?

That’s a hard question to answer because every
story is compelling. The first time my wife Tammy
and I went to Walter Reed was in 2003, when
(wounded troops) started coming back from
Afghanistan. I got a call from the commander at
Walter Reed, who said, “You should really come
down here and see what you’re doing.” I said, “No,
I don’t want to intrude on these families.” He said,
“Don’t look at it at that way. You need to see what
you’re doing,” and I said, “OK, but no cameras.

This can’t be used for any kind of publicity for
either of us.”

So Tammy and I went there, and some of their
wounds were horrific. We saw a Special Forces
sergeant, and his arm was pinned to his body with
a halo. He was sitting on his bed, and I said, “Hey,
how are you doing?” And he comes over, shakes
my hand and says, “Thank you.” I said, “I’m here
to thank you.” My wife and I, just about the same
time, ran out of the room because we were crying.

All we were doing was building houses. But
when you go down there and you see what you’re
doing, man, it gets pretty heavy.

Two projects of which you’re especially proud
are the Fisher Houses at Dover Air Force Base
and Great Britain.

When we deviate, we deviate in a way that’s
associated with the mission. Back in 2008, I got a
phone call from the Army surgeon general. Was
I aware of what was going on at Dover? He said
that families come in at 4:30 in the morning to
repatriate their loved ones’ remains - to basically
welcome their loved ones home. After doing the
unthinkable, they get in a car to drive five or six
miles to a cheap hotel. So using a fund I keep as a

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 27

sort of chairman’s prerogative fund, I built a Fisher
House at Dover so that families - if they can get
there to welcome their loved one home, they don’t
get a lot of notice - can walk 50, 60 yards and not
have to worry about traveling anywhere. We also
built a nondenominational spiritual center so that
if they want to pray or meditate, they walk out the
front door and across a little street. We call it the
Fisher House for the Families of the Fallen. I’m
more proud of that than anything else because we
did that house in about seven months.

The next project was a little bit outside the box.
When the British military are wounded they get
folded into the national health-care system; they
don’t have a VA. Somebody who just hit an IED
could be next to someone who just had their
appendix out. They got together and said they’d
like to be able to recover together the way the
Americans do. The military talked to the govern-
ment, and it decided to take a chunk of a new
hospital being built in Birmingham and make a
wounded warrior ward. It’s basically a military
hospital within the hospital.

A friend of my wife’s came to the opening of the
Los Angeles VA Fisher House and said, “Boy,
wouldn’t it be great if we could have one of these
in England?” I said, “Why not?” One of our goals at
FH is to educate about the plight of the military
family, and to me the British are just an extension
of us. They didn’t pay the same price we did over
there, but they did pay a price.

We worked with the hospital trust and what I’d
call the mirror image of Fisher House in England,
Help for Heroes. We split it three ways: the trust,
Help for Heroes and us. Prince Charles came and
dedicated the house. It was a big deal.

We actually had to amend our charter, which
only allowed us to do this on American soil. The
idea’s now global, but it highlights how lean and
nimble we can be, that we were able to do this and
never missed a beat in America.

Last October, Fisher House stepped in to cover
troops’ death benefits during the government
shutdown. What does that say about our
government and politics today?

I saw the story on the news, like everybody else,
and I said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Now
they’re playing games with the families of the
fallen.” We’ve had government shutdowns before,
but never like this. I called up the president of
Fisher House, and I said, “We can’t allow this to
happen. This is what we do. We have to fund this.”

During the shutdown there were five combat

casualties, but it wasn’t five families who were
suffering. There were 29 who had lost a loved one
in uniform, whether it be by suicide, sickness,
training accident or combat. They get $100,000
within the first 24 to 36 hours. Fisher House was
prepared to fund $2,900,000 that day.

I’m not going to tell you I was appalled because
the death benefits weren’t being paid. That was
appalling enough. The House voted 435-0 to
restore benefits, but when we heard the Senate
might not vote because they were worried that
certain members didn’t want piecemeal solutions -
they wanted the whole ball of wax or nothing -
I was incensed. They’ve got Fisher House now,
everybody’s satisfied that the death benefits are
dealt with, everybody can go back to squabbling
- that’s what got me. Yeah, I felt like a pawn. And
I was. But if that’s being used, use me all day,
because at least I got (the troops’) backs covered.

Describe Fisher House’s relationship with
The American Legion.

The American Legion has been a great supporter,
not just with the help it gives us, but with its
input. As VSOs, we can change what happens
when injustices have been done or are being done.
If we all pull together, we can make the changes.
We’re proud to even be mentioned in the same
breath as The American Legion.

On the local level, volunteers are capital in
the sense of time and help. If there’s a Fisher
House in the area of an American Legion post,
hopefully they’ll stop by and say hello. Check
on my houses for me. Check on my families:

“How are you guys doing? Do you need anything?”
On the national level, we don’t ask for anything.
We fundraise, of course, but we always let
what we do be the deciding factor. If you like
what you see, join us.

Are you satisfied that Fisher House has lived
up to its founder’s vision?

How could it not have? The mission is so pure.

Of course, Zach passed before 9/11, but I don’t
think he ever would have imagined that Fisher
House would become the gold standard. Those are
not just my words. Building a house in Britain,
getting involved in the government shutdown and
doing what we did were right up his alley. If
I could have him back for five minutes, I think all
he would do is smile. ||

Matt Grills is managing editor of The American
Legion Magazine.

28 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Limited Mintage Striking...

WORLD’S FIRST

The 2014 $100 SILVER PROOF

Collectible
2014 date

Mirrored proof

Larger Franklin
portrait

Liberty Bell, quill pen
& July 4th date

Minted in one Troy ounce
of .999% fine silver

Actual size is 6” x 2 l A n

GovMint.com Announces the Limited Mintage
Striking of an Extraordinary Silver Proof
— the Newest United States $100 Bill Struck in
Pure Silver Bullion . Discount Price $99

This extraordinary piece of pure silver
bullion has a surface area that exceeds
15 square inches. ..and it contains one
Troy ounce of pure silver bullion!

And now, during a limited strike
period, the very first Year 2014 $100
Silver Proof is available at a special
discount price — only $99!

EXQUISITE DETAIL

The historic 2014 $100 Silver Proof is
an exquisite adaptation of the United States Trea-
sury’s newly-designed $100 Federal Reserve Note. Benjamin
Franklin has only appeared on four $100 bill designs over the
last 100 years. This dramatic artistic masterpiece will always
be treasured.

.999 SILVER

Best of all, this stunning Silver Proof is even more beautiful
than the original, because it’s struck in precious silver bullion!

It is a landmark in proof minting, combining unprecedented
weight with extraordinary dimension. The specifications for
this colossal medallic proof are unparalleled.

Each one:

• Is Individually Struck from Pure .999 Silver.

• Weighs one Troy ounce.

• Flas a Surface Area That Exceeds 15 Square Inches.

• Contains 31.10 Grams (480 Grains) of Pure Silver.

• Is Individually Registered and Comes With a
Numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

• Is Fully Encapsulated to Protect Its Mirror-Finish.

• Includes a Deluxe Presentation Case.

ADVANCE STRIKE DISCOUNT

The price for the 2014 $100 Silver Proof will be set at $129
per proof.

However, if you place your order now, you can acquire
this giant silver proof at the special advance strike discount
price — only $99.

NOTE TO COLLECTORS: When you place your order
for the $100 silver proof, it will be processed immediately, and the
earliest orders will receive the coveted lowest registration numbers.

ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS

Substantial additional discounts are available for serious
collectors who wish to acquire more than one of these
exquisite silver proofs.

You can order:

ONE Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $99 each + s/h

FIVE Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $95 each + s/h

TEN Year 2014 $100 Silver Proofs for just $89 each + s/h

There is a limit of twenty $100 Silver Proofs per order, and
all orders are subject to acceptance by GovMint.com.

ONLY 9999 AVAILABLE

GovMint.com will limit striking to only 9999 One Troy Ounce
Silver Proofs for the year 2014. Once the edition is sold out,
no more 2014 silver proofs can ever be struck.

Orders only will be accepted on a strict first-come, first-
served basis according to the time and date of the order. Call
today for fastest order processing.

Call Today to Order Your $100 Silver Proof!

1 - 888 - 835-8806

Offer Code: SFP209-02

Please mention this code when you call.

.COM

(£

VDURGNE BEST SOURCE FOR COrUS WORLDWIDE

A major credit card is necessary to secure your reservation, and
GovMint.com guarantees satisfaction with a money-back policy
for a full 30 days.

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a predictor of future performance. NOTE: GovMint.com® is a private distributor of worldwide
government coin and currency issues and privately issued licensed collectibles and is not affiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures deemed accurate
as of November 2013. ©2014 GovMint.com.

Visit our web site at www.GovMint.com

‘Don’t worry, they’ll find you’

In his work as a VA Voluntary Service director and manager
at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Jim Fratolillo
knows Fisher House Boston's value to VA patients.

Old or young, hospitalized veterans rest easier with their
families just a building away. More, "they don't have to worry
about their families commuting," Fratolillo says. "They know
their spouses are taken care of. The operation here is first class.
It's just a real comforting place."

In Boston and nationwide, American Legion posts - along
with their Auxiliary units and SAL detachments - play a big
role in helping build and sustain Fisher Houses.

"Before I opened the house, I wondered how this was going
to work," says Elizabeth St. Pierre, manager of Fisher House
Boston. "I was reassured by other Fisher House managers,
'Don't worry, they'll find you.' And The American Legion, the
Auxiliary, the Sons - they were the first people to contact me.
And they've stuck with us."

June Teague, a member of Edward J. Beatty Auxiliary Unit
24, organizes a cookie swap during the holidays and regularly
asks St. Pierre what's needed. "We went out and bought a
woman sneakers, a hat, gloves, stuff like that," she says. "A lot
of the families come here and don't think they're going to be
here as long as they are."

Other times, donated funds are used to purchase extra
shampoo, toothpaste, slippers and robes.

"My experience with the Legion and the Auxiliary is that
they have a very keen sense of what that personal touch
should be like," St. Pierre says. "That fits with our Fisher
House mission, because every guest should feel special.

"The volunteers bring their personal reason for being
there, their gratitude for veterans and military families, so
there's already a connection. They want to serve, they want
to help, they want to bring comfort when it's needed. They
come up with great ideas." Cl

top: Jim Fratolillo of Houghs Neck Post 380 in Quincy,
Mass., talks with Auxiliary member June Teague
during a visit to Fisher House Boston , located at VA's
West Roxbury campus, right: Fisher House Boston is
the 46th Fisher House built and the 15th at a VA
medical center. With 20 suites, it is open to families of
hospitalized veterans or active-duty servicemembers
living 50 or more miles away. Photos by Matthew Healey

30 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Ufa

USAA®

USAA is proud to be the

Preferred Provider

of Insurance and Financial Services
to The American Legion

Save time and money when you buy your next car with the USAA Car Buying
Service. Present your USAA Savings Certificate 1 at a USAA Certified Dealer, and
you'll get a great deal plus a high level of service. In fact, members have saved
an average of $3,347 off MSRP. 2

Shop with confidence.

1-877-699-2654 1 usaa.com/legion

USA4®

Insurance Banking Investments Retirement Advice

We know what it means to serve?

USAA means United Services Automobile Association and its insurance, banking, investment and other companies. USAA products are available only in those jurisdictions
where USAA is authorized to sell them.

1 Estimated price and savings currently not available in AR, CO, KS, MD, NE, OR, TX, VA and WA. In these states, a "target price" is presented, which reflects a market-based example of what you can
reasonably expect to pay for a vehicle configured with your desired options. 2 Between 1/1/13 and 12/31/1 3, the average estimated savings off MSRP presented by TrueCar Certified Dealers to users of
the USAA Car Buying Service, based on users who configured virtual vehicles and subsequently purchased a new vehicle of the same make and model listed on the certificate from Certified Dealers,
was $3,347, including applicable vehicle specific manufacturer incentives. Your actual savings may vary based on multiple factors including the vehicle you select, region, dealer, and applicable vehicle
specific manufacturer incentives which are subject to change. The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price ("MSRP") is determined by the manufacturer, and may not reflect the price at which vehicles
are generally sold in the dealer's trade area as not all vehicles are sold at MSRP. Each dealer sets its own pricing. Your actual purchase price is negotiated between you and the dealer. Neither TrueCar
nor USAA sells or leases motor vehicles.

Use of the term "member" or "membership" does not convey any eligibility rights for auto and property insurance products, or legal or ownership rights in USAA. Ownership rights are limited to eligible
policyholders of United Services Automobile Association.

Wearing their gas masks, two U.S. soldiers
advance through plumes of smoke.

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Great War redrew the lines of our
world in ways that affect us today.

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

BY ALAN W. DOWD

W orld War I had many names. It was initially
called “the Great War” because it was so
sweeping in its reach and for the number of nations it
drew into its vortex. H.G. Wells famously called it
“the war that will end war.” Americans called it “the
European War” until the United States was drawn in
and newspapers began calling it “the World War.”
President Woodrow Wilson described it as “the most
terrible and disastrous of all wars,” believing that its
very destructiveness would convince nations of the
futility of war - and that he could somehow build a
“concert for peace” out of the rubble.

Those labels lasted barely two decades, as a far
more terrible, more disastrous war engulfed the
world a generation later - a testament to how wrong
the peacemakers at Versailles were. We still live in
the long shadows cast by the peace they made and
the war they waged a century ago.

WHAT THE WAR WROUGHT

Some historians say it was inevitable. Imperial
Germany was emerging as a global power in the early
20th century. The Kaiser felt hemmed in and wanted
a bigger slice of the world’s riches, as evidenced by
his lunges toward the Philippines, Venezuela and
Morocco in the years before the war. These incidents
explain why President Theodore Roosevelt, as
historian Edmund Morris writes, considered the
Kaiser “the most dangerous man in the world.”

Military strength swelled across Europe: German
military expenditures more than doubled between
1910 and 1914. In the 14 years before the war, Russia’s
army grew by 16 percent, France’s by 27 percent, and
Britain’s warship tonnage almost tripled.

Yet at the same time, European nations enjoyed
deep commercial connections. German iron-ore
imports from France grew sixtyfold between 1900
and 1913. Britain accounted for more than 14 percent
of Germany’s exports.

Many believed such trade linkages made war
unthinkable. Then came the summer of 1914, the
assassination in Sarajevo and a cascade of
secret treaties.

Winston Churchill described World War I as the
moment when “all the horrors of all the ages were
brought together.”

Indeed, the mating of fully industrialized 20th-
century empires with 19th-century conceptions of
warfare yielded an unprecedented level of killing.
Some 10 million troops died during 52 months of
war - more than the combat dead from all the wars
in the preceding century combined.

The war employed both new and old technologies
for killing: fighter planes, flamethrowers, tanks,

water-cooled machine guns, maneuverable
submarines, industrialized chemical arsenals.
Germany was the first to use poison gas during the
war, launching a chlorine attack in Belgium in April
1915. It worked, killing some 5,000 troops, and the
Allies followed suit. By the end of the war, chemical
weapons had killed 91,000. Postwar treaties tried to
close Pandora’s box, but chemical weapons have been
used in 11 conflicts since 1919, most recently in Syria
in 2013.

Anglo-French forces lost 600,000 men during the
Battle of the Somme, all to nudge the front seven
miles along. Germany lost almost 300,000 men trying
to capture Verdun - and failed. These ghastly casualty
figures underscore why Wilson described leading
America into the Great War as “a fearful thing.”

Not every byproduct of the war was an instrument
of war, however. It produced The American Legion,
which was born in Paris in March 1919; air-traffic
control systems; international cooperation to combat
hunger; and a revolution in battlefield medicine -
mobile X-ray machines, antiseptic treatment of
wounds, reconstructive surgery and “preventive
inoculation.” All these innovations would serve
mankind in peacetime.

The war also served as a proving ground for men
like Dwight Eisenhower (who commanded a tank-
maneuver training center), Douglas MacArthur (who
led offensives in France), George Patton (who earned
a Distinguished Service Cross in the U.S. Tank Corps)
and William Halsey (who earned a Navy Cross
commanding destroyers in the Atlantic).

FAUX NEUTRALITY

These men were serving a remarkably naive
commander in chief. Wilson, after all, expected
nations fighting for their survival to observe the legal
nuances and niceties of America’s strange brand of
neutrality. Although he vowed to be “neutral in fact
as well as in name . . . impartial in thought as well as
in action,” the United States loaned the Allies
$2.5 billion in the war’s first two years, while loaning
the Central Powers less than one-tenth that amount.

It was equally naive of Wilson to think that words
would compel Germany to respect America’s faux
neutrality. When German U-boats began attacking
merchant ships, the president said he would hold the
Kaiser to “strict accountability.” Yet when Americans
were killed aboard Falaba , Lusitania and Arabic , he
responded by writing letters.

To be fair, Wilson’s neutrality may have been his
way of making a virtue out of necessity. America was
ill-prepared for war, as Roosevelt detailed in late 1914.
“Our navy is lamentably short in many different

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 33

material directions. There is actually but one torpedo
for each torpedo tube,” he wrote. “For nearly two
years, there has been no fleet maneuvering.”

The War Department set a goal of fielding 2 million
troops in 1917. But between April and December of
that year, the United States deployed only 200,000
troops to Europe - all of whom were still in training.
France and Britain initially supplied John Pershing’s
men with mortars and artillery.

This was predictable and avoidable. In the eight
years before entering World War I, the United States
devoted an average of 0.7 percent of GDP to defense.

Still, U.S. manpower and materiel turned the tide.
America’s “productive strength . . . was unequaled,”
historian Paul Kennedy observes, noting that it
churned out merchant ships by the hundreds. U.S.
factories could produce a 7,500-ton ship in three days.
Between mid-1917 and the end of the war, U.S.
automakers built some 20,000 Liberty aircraft engines.

Nearly 5 million Americans served, and 116,516
died, in Europe’s civil war.

'A PHRASE LOADED WITH DYNAMITE'

“It would be an irony of fate if my administration
had to deal chiefly with foreign affairs,” Wilson
remarked before his inauguration. Yet in drafting his
peace plan, he proved himself a visionary statesman.
Wilson’s Fourteen Points were so visionary that the
world was not ready to embrace them in 1919 - and
still wrestles with them today.

He envisioned “a partnership of democratic nations,”
“the rights of nations great and small ... to choose
their way of life,” “open covenants of peace, openly
arrived at,” “freedom of navigation upon the seas,”
removal of trade barriers, reduction of armaments,
“impartial adjustment of all colonial claims,” borders
based on “recognizable lines of nationality,”
“autonomous development” for national minorities -
all undergirded by a “general association of nations . . .
for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of
political independence and territorial integrity.”

Embedded in Wilson’s postwar plan was the
principle of self-determination. “Peoples may now be
dominated and governed only by their own consent,”
he declared. “Self-determination is not a mere phrase.
It is an imperative principle of actions which
statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril.”

Wilson’s own secretary of state, Robert Lansing,
called it “a phrase loaded with dynamite ... It will,

I fear, cost thousands of lives.”

Pointing to Wilson’s “intemperate ... declarations,”
Lansing asked, “When the president talks of ‘self-
determination,’ what unit does he have in mind? Does
he mean a race, or a territorial area, or a community?

Without a definite unit that is practical, application of
this principle is dangerous to peace and stability.”

Wilson may have sensed the tides of history
carrying humanity toward decentralization and
democratization. But Lansing’s instincts were right. In
1900, there were 57 independent countries. Today,
there are nearly 200. Many of them came into
existence through self-determination movements;
many of those movements triggered wars. Consider the
United Nations’ newest member, South Sudan, which
fought to secede from Sudan and is now in the midst
of a fight that could further divide the country; or
Kosovo, which cut itself away from Serbia and is now
dealing with a Serbian enclave that wants to cut itself
away from Kosovo; or Ukraine, which may divide into
Russian and Ukrainian statelets; or Iraqi Kurdistan,
which wants to turn its autonomy into independence.

Of course, these examples speak to the great sweep
of Wilson’s vision. Much of what he advocated - an
international order seeking peaceful settlement of
disputes, an international organization committed to
heading off great-power conflict, international
borders determined by nationalities, open markets,
open treaties - was accepted in 1945.

SEEDS OF DESTRUCTION

The war left in its wake a trail of bitter ironies and
broken promises.

It began with Europe’s empires dominating the
world, but it left the continent broke and broken: total
European indebtedness to the United States surpassed
$11.6 billion - the rough equivalent of $157.8 billion
today. Europe was smashed into a jagged jumble of
ethno-national shards.

The war gave us the Weimar Republic (seedbed for
Hitler’s Nazis), the Polish Corridor and French
acquisitions of resource-rich German lands (seedbed
for Hitler’s territorial grievances), and a dismembered
Germany (seedbed for Hitler’s Anschluss). All told,
Germany lost 13 percent of its territory and
10 percent of its population at Versailles.

The war rolled back the frontiers of Russia,
resurrected an independent Poland and midwifed
new nations from the Adriatic to the Baltic - all of
which would be undone by Hitler and Stalin.

The war ended the Russian Empire but spawned
the Russian Revolution, which spawned the Soviet
Union, which gave the world something far worse
than the czar.

Wilson promised “peace without victory,” and
Germany seized upon his plan as a face-saving way
to end the war. But Wilson’s partners were not in a
magnanimous mood when they arrived at Versailles.
“Their concerns related to the future weakening of a

34 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Honor Vietnam Veterans with this Exclusive Offer

VIETNAM 50™ ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE THOM

Few generations have faced a more daunting challenge than those who
fought in Southeast Asia. When the nation called, they answered.
They didn’t hesitate to put their lives on the line and give
everything in defense of freedom.

THE
THOMPSON:
AN AMERICAN
ORIGINAL

HONOR VIETNAM VETERANS WITH
THIS EXCLUSIVE OFFER

Whether you are a veteran who answered the
call to duty in Vietnam, or you wish to honor
your father, brother, friend or other family
member, the Vietnam 50 th Anniversary
Tribute Thompson is sure to
become a cherished addition to
your collection. Order today
to secure your Tribute
honoring those who
proudly served our
nation in Vietnam.

Vietnam was considered
the “last great war” for the
Tommy Gun. Though it saw
limited use, it was a popular weapon
for soldiers on both sides. According
to some Vietnam Veterans, the
Thompson was a “warhorse” highly
sought after for its superior stopping
power and refusal to jam.

Like the dedicated American warriors
who served in Vietnam, the Thompson served
proudly, continuing a tradition of excellence first
established during WWII, and later in Korea. This
stunning presentation firearm is a lasting tribute to the
Vietnam Veterans and links them forever in time with their
brothers-in-arms who fought earlier wars.

▼ The top of the receiver features banners that read,
“Vietnam War - 50 th Anniversary” and “A Grateful Nation Remembers.”

They came from all over the country, from all
walks of life, to fight for freedom on the other side
of the world. They answered the call of duty. They
served with courage, honor, and commitment. As a
nation, we owe all of our Vietnam Veterans a debt
that can never be repaid.

America’s involvement spanned three decades and
it's estimated that more than 2,500,000 Americans
served in Vietnam. More than 58,000 Americans
made the ultimate sacrifice and another 365,000 were
wounded. Those numbers are truly staggering, and
America can never repay all those who honorably
sacrificed and served.

As the United States officially marks its observance
of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, America
Remembers is proud to honor those who answered the
call to duty with the Vietnam 50 th Anniversary Tribute
Thompson. Craftsmen commissioned specifically for
this Tribute by America Remembers decorate each
semi-automatic Thompson in elegant 24 -karat gold
artwork on a mirror-polished blued receiver. Issued
in a limited edition of 500 Tributes, this handsome
tribute captures the courage and sacrifice of all
those who fought for freedom in Vietnam. The
Tribute is a working semi-automatic Thompson
submachine gun in caliber .45 ACR

Only 500 of the Vietnam 50 th Anniversary
Tribute Thompsons will ever be produced.

Order now to guarantee your place
in the edition. We will arrange
delivery through the licensed
firearms dealer of your
choice (not available
in CA, CT, MD
or NY). If for any
reason you are not
completely satisfied
with your Tribute,
you may return it
in original, unfired
condition within
30 days for a
complete and
courteous
refund.

▲ The right side features four meticulously rendered scenes bookended with a pair of Asian dragons. The first
shows a Patrol Boat, River (PBR) cruising along the Mekong Delta. Next are the sandbag walls and towering
howitzers of Khe Sank The 6,000 man garrison at Khe Sanhfirebase held out for more than two months
against two NVA divisions. Prominently featured in the center are American warriors patrolling among the
rubble of a battle-ravaged city. The final scene features a squad carefully making their way across a rice paddy.

MODEL: THOMPSON AUTO-ORDNANCE 1927 A-l DARREL LENGTH: 10 V*” CALIBER: .45 ACP ©ahl, inc

I wish to reserve of the “Vietnam 50 th Anniversary Tribute

Thompson”, a working Thompson, at the current issue price of $2,995.*
My deposit of $195 per Tribute is enclosed. I wish to pay the balance at
the rate of $100 per month, no interest or carrying charges. Certificate of
Authenticity included. Thirty day return privilege.

*All orders are subject to acceptance and credit verification prior to shipment.
Shipping and handling will be added to each order. Virginia residents please add sales tax.

□ Check enclosed for $ ,

□ Charge payment of $ to:

□ Visa □ MasterCard □ AMEX □ Discover

Name_

Address.

City/State/Zip

Daytime Telephone No. (-

_ Exp.

America Remembers®

10226 Timber Ridge Drive ★ Ashland, Virginia 23005
www.americaremembers.com
To place your reservation call toll-free 1-800-682-2291

Victorious American soldiers post a sign renaming Hindenburgstrasse to Wilson U.S. A. in Vigneulles, France, in 1918. u.s. signal corps photo

strong and dangerous Germany, to revenge and to the
shifting by the victors of their unbearable financial
burdens onto the shoulders of the defeated,” John
Maynard Keynes lamented. “Nations have no right to
use peace treaties to punish the children of their
enemies.” Germany made its final World War I debt
payment in 2010.

Wilson envisioned a world “made safe for
democracy.” Yet as historians Felix Gilbert and David
Clay Large note, “After 15 years, with the exception of
Czechoslovakia, not one of the states created or
reorganized at the Paris Peace Conference remained a
democracy.” And some pieces of postwar Europe -
Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy - became
virulently anti-democratic.

The term “postwar” is itself an irony. After all, the
“war to end wars” did the very opposite. World War
II was a continuation of World War I, and so the
adjective “postwar” was soon replaced by “interwar.”

The war was romanticized when the guns
thundered to life in August 1914, but those who
survived the trenches realized that the Great War was
more apocalyptic than romantic. Like Revelation’s

four horsemen, it brought conflict (28 nations were
engaged), famine (Belgium starved, Germany
survived on turnips, Austria’s cities went hungry),
death (10 million soldiers and 6 million civilians
died) and pestilence (the 1918-1919 influenza
pandemic claimed 50 million lives).

CLARITY AND STRENGTH

We can virtually plot recent U.S. military interven-
tions - and many of today’s hottest hot spots - by
glancing at the maps drawn after the Great War.

The postwar creation known as Yugoslavia was
“a miniature empire run by the Serbs,” historian Paul
Johnson writes. From the very beginning, these
“south Slavs” - some Catholic, some Muslim, some
Orthodox - did not get along. But they remained glued
together until 1992, when Yugoslavia finally came
undone. The wars that dismembered Yugoslavia -
now seven countries - claimed some 250,000 lives.

The League of Nations entrusted much of the
Ottoman Empire’s wreckage to Britain and France.
They would haphazardly stitch together or tear apart
ethno-religious groupings that should have been

36 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Plantar Fasciitis Relief

WITH SHOCK ABSORBING MEMORY FOAM

Free

Shipping

Built-In Shock Absorbing
Memory Foam &
Orthotics For

Optimal

Comfort

Adjustable
Closure For
Custom Fit

Both Colors
Available For
Men & Women

Free surprise gift with every order

Indoor

Outdoor

Use!

www.ReliefAndRemedies.com w “

1 - 800 - 530-2689

Order Now
Toll-Free

Helps

Reduce The
Stabbing
Pain

Of Plantar
Fasciitis

Strain

Relief

Walk Pain Free Again!
Specially designed slippers offer
relief in every step with built-in
heel support, shock-absorbing
memory foam bed and sturdy
PVC indoor/outdoor sole. Aligns
heel, ankle, foot and legs back to
a neutral position that takes the
pressure off & keeps you walk-
ing pain free. Import with ad-
justable one touch closure in tan
and cream, available in whole
sizes for both men & women.

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Return For Your Money Back

#517

Ladies’

Cream

Tan

#518

Men’s

Cream

Tan

Pr(s) Plantar Fasciitis Slippers @ $19.99

CA residents must add 7.5% sales tax

FREE Regular Shipping

$ FREE

Add $2.00 Handling Each Pair

1 V FOR EXPEDITED SHIPPING (optional)

1 ✓ Add An Additional $2.95

(receive your order 5-7 days from shipment)

$ 2.95

Indicate Qty Under Size & Color

TOTAL

□ VISA □ MasterCard □ Discover®/NOVUS slv, Cards
Card#

Name
Address

City ST Zip

Daytime Phone #

Email Address

Exp. Date

Dept. 70080

Check or money order payable to: ReliefAndRemedies
Send Order To: 1024 Remedy Lane, Van Nuys, CA 91496

handled with more care - Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis
crammed together in Iraq and Syria; Lebanon
separated from Syria; dangled promises of a Jewish
homeland in the middle of an Arab-dominated
Palestine. Not surprisingly, the region has barely seen
a moment’s peace. Iraq has made war against four of
its neighbors, prompting repeated U.S. intervention.
There have been four major Arab-Israeli wars, two
intifada uprisings, and brutal civil wars in Lebanon,
Iraq and Syria. Lebanon’s civil war claimed 120,000
lives, Syria’s 150,000 (and counting), and Iraq’s
Sunni-Shiite war 825 per month (and counting).

As to some of the war’s lessons, a common refrain
is that Europe’s arms race triggered World War I. If
this were true, then a) there shouldn’t have been a
World War II, since the Allies allowed their arsenals
to atrophy after World War I, and b) there should have
been a World War III, since the United States and the
Soviet Union engaged in an unprecedented arms race.

The reality is that miscalculation lit the fuse of
World War I. The antidote, as we have learned in the
intervening century, is clarity plus strength.

Arms alone aren’t enough to deter war. After all,
the great powers were armed to the teeth in 1914. But
since they weren’t clear about their treaty
commitments, a small crisis on the fringes of Europe
mushroomed into a global war. Nor is clarity alone
enough to deter war. After all, Wilson’s words to the
Kaiser were clear, but America lacked deterrent
military strength.

HISTORY AND HOPE

The men who crafted the West’s post-World War II
blueprint applied the clarity-plus-strength model to
prevent the Cold War from turning hot. It remains to

be seen whether the world will follow their example in
what may be today’s equivalent of prewar Europe: the
Asia-Pacific region.

As before, a rising authoritarian power feels
hemmed in and entitled, strategic uncertainties
abound, territorial claims remain unsettled, the scope
of treaty commitments is uncertain, military arsenals
are swelling, and trade is booming. Total Japan-
China trade is $334 billion annually; U.S. -China trade
is $562 billion annually.

Still, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees his
nation and China in a “similar situation” to Britain
and Germany on the eve of World War I. Kevin Rudd,
former prime minister of Australia, draws parallels to
prewar Europe in the South China Sea - a region
“riven by overlapping alliances, loyalties and
hatreds,” and simmering with a mix of “primitive . . .
nationalisms” and “great-power politics.” All the
while, U.S. defense spending is ebbing to levels not
seen since the interwar years.

We can hope that America has enough residual
muscle to maintain the balance and begins to speak
with sufficient clarity to prevent miscalculation, and
that trade ties prevent a great war in the Pacific. But
Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey expects
“the risk of interstate conflict in East Asia to rise.”
And historian Robert Kagan ominously warns,
“History has not been kind to the theory that strong
trade ties prevent conflict among nations. The United
States and China are no more dependent on each
other’s economies today than were Great Britain and
Germany before World War I.” II

Alan W. Dowd is a contributing editor for
The American Legion Magazine.

wwt

THE UNITED STATES

WORLD WAR

ONE

CENTENNIAL

COMMISSION

THE GREAT WARS CENTENNIAL BEGINS

James Whitfield of Independence, Mo.,
represents The American Legion on the
12-member United States World War One
Centennial Commission.

A World War II Navy veteran, Whitfield is a
member of Matthews-Crawford Post 131 in
Warrensburg, Mo. He has served in various
American Legion post, district, department
and national offices.

Passed by Congress and signed by President
Barack Obama in 2013, Public Law 112-272
charges the commission with:

■ Planning, developing and executing

programs, projects and activities to
commemorate the war's centennial.

■ Encouraging private organizations and
state and local governments to organize and
participate in commemoration activities.

■ Serving as a clearinghouse for the
collection and dissemination of information
about centennial events and plans.

■ Developing recommendations for
Congress and the president for
commemorating the centennial.

^ worldwar-1centennial.org

38 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

T LIMITED

Lifetime

Warranty*

Premier Care

in Bathing

Tested. Trusted. Recommended.

Name

/ YES! Send me a FREE Information Kit about your Walk-In Baths
plus full details about your $150 a month payment plan!

Code 20578

Telephone (

Proudly made
in the USA

(required for processing)
Address

State

ZIP

Send to: Premier Care in Bathing, 2330 South Nova Rd., South Daytona, Florida 32119

ATTENTION VETS

Bathe Safely And Easily

For As Little As
$ 150 A Month*

' in Bathing

Tested . Trusted . Recommended

**Subject to warranty
terms and conditions.

Awarded Coveted

“Ease-Of-Use”
Commendation By The

ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION

America’s Best Walk-In Baths Are Now More Affordable!

Don’t miss this low cost way to enjoy a relaxing bath again, without the fear of slipping or falling. A luxurious, Walk-ln-Bath
from Premier Care in Bathing offers you the ultimate in safety and ease of use. The walk-in door allows barrier-free
access. The low threshold entry is easy on your legs. The optional bubbly hydrovescent therapy soothes away aches.
If you or a loved one struggle taking a bath, independence and safety are only a phone call away.

► No More Fear Of Slipping Or Falling

► Walk-In Door Allows Easy Access

► Raised Seat Lets You Bathe In Comfort

► Premium Quality For High Performance

► Optional Hydrovescent Therapy

► Installed By Factory-Trained Technicians

► Our Fully Licensed Installers Can Do Most Any Install,
And In Most Cases In Just One To Two Days

► Easy Installation With White Glove Treatment

Senior Discounts and Financing Available
Call Now Toll-Free For FREE Information Kit

1 - 800 - 687-0081

WWW.MoreTublnfO.com Promo Code 20578

‘Monthly payments shown are required for 115 months with special financing on approved credit
with 115 monthly payments of $150 to pay off total balance of $12,000. Monthly payment shown is
equal to the promo purchase price (excluding taxes and delivery) multiplied by 1.25%, rounded to
the next highest whole dollar, and only applies to the selected financing option shown. If you make
your payments by the due date each month, the monthly payment shown should allow you to pay off
this purchase within the promo period if this balance is the only balance on your account during the
promo period. If you have other balances on your account, this monthly payment will be added to the
minimum payment applicable to those balances.

Will the Scots stick with the British or declare themselves an independent nation?

BY BEN BARBER

It was once said that the sun never set on the
British Empire, which at its zenith stretched from
North America to Calcutta to Hong Kong. How
times have changed, as Britain now faces the
possible loss of its closest cousin: Scotland.

After more than 300 years of union with England
and Wales, a strong push for Scottish independence
will culminate at the ballot box on Sept. 18.

Quite unlike the bloody medieval battles
portrayed in “Braveheart,” a film that glorified
Scottish valor and inspired the separatist
movement, this split would for the most part be
peaceful. While campaigning for a “no” vote on
separation, the British government in London has
agreed to respect the outcome of the referendum.

In May, an ICM poll showed that 34 percent of
Scots desire independence while 46 percent are
opposed. (Anyone living in Scotland, no matter
their citizenship, may vote; Scots in England or
elsewhere may not.)

Yet an Ipsos MORI Scotland poll in March

reported that “significant numbers of Scots remain
undecided ... It is therefore difficult to predict the
outcome.”

From every angle I look , the British are through /

I wait for bonnie Scotland to give me her hand /
And we'll walk towards the sunrise of an
independent land

In a crowded Highlands pub, Scottish folk
singer Davy Holt plays his guitar, voicing a
sentiment shared by many of Scotland’s 5 million
people. Long have they felt that the English - with
a population 10 times their size - see the Scots as
country bumpkins rather than equal partners in
Great Britain. With centuries of clan fighting as
their legacy, the only profession at which the Scots
were thought to excel was war. Scottish troops
received numerous medals in British wars and
fought bravely alongside English and U.S. forces in
World War II, Iraq and Afghanistan.

40 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Though some Scots fret over the economic and
social consequences of going it alone, nationalism
and pride are running hot. Separatists say the Scots
would enjoy the income from North Sea oil and gas
flowing directly to London, allowing them to create
a Scandinavian-style social welfare state. Scots
have a hawkish tradition as warriors, documented
by former U.S. Sen. James Webb in his book “Born
Fighting.” But politically they tend to be liberal to
socialist, favoring free child care and university
education, taxing the rich to lift up the poor and
greater public ownership of industry.

Nicola Sturgeon, deputy leader of the Scottish
National Party (SNP) - which favors independence
and currently holds a majority in the Scottish
Parliament - recently told the Telegraph that a free
Scotland would include child care, unleashing a
wave of women into the workforce. The SNP also
opposes moves by London’s conservative
government to privatize the Royal Mail, reduce
taxes and cut social spending to promote a
pro-business environment.

The British government is eager to keep Scotland
in the fold; its “Better Together” public relations

campaign has raised the specter of financial ruin
and ill Scots being turned away from British
hospitals. But one thing is certain: Britain takes
seriously the possibility of a separatist victory.

To calm financial tremors, U.K. officials said in
January that Britain will stand behind the entire
$2.2 trillion British national debt, whether or not
an independent Scotland pays its share. It’s not
even clear how the debt could be divided after
centuries of the two peoples sharing currency,
trade, defense, labor and everything else.

Scotland’s separation would be the biggest
earthquake in European politics in decades, amid
fears that separatists will split Belgium’s Dutch-
and French-speaking areas and divide Catalonia
from Spain. The continent has fresh memories of
Yugoslavia’s bloody breakup into seven smaller
countries. Hundreds of thousands died in Bosnia,
Kosovo, Serbia and Croatia.

But an English-Scottish breakup would be a
civilized affair, akin to the “velvet divorce” that
split Czechoslovakia in 1991. A Czech university
professor I’ve known for years told me that because
the Czech Republic and Slovakia both joined the

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 41

AlexSalmond and Nicola Sturgeon , leaders of the Scottish National Party, stroll in front of a sign outside Parliament in Edinburgh
indicating the date of Scotland's independence referendum. David Moir/Reuters

European Union, the divorce was not significant.
Travel, trade, labor standards and even taxes are
handled by the EU.

The Scots have already been running education,
health and other social services for a decade. In
1997, British Prime Minister Tony Blair - himself a
Scot - got the ball rolling by allowing Scotland to
vote on whether to re-create a parliament that
existed prior to the 1707 union with England.

The move toward autonomy or devolution was
aimed at undercutting separatists. But it
boomeranged and instead convinced Scots that
they have done well on their own and should
simply take the next step to full independence.

Last November, the Scottish government
unveiled a 670-page blueprint for secession and
independence. Among its pledges:

■ Scotland would keep the British pound.

■ By 2024, all children 1 and older would receive
state-funded child care.

■ Scotland would remain part of the EU.

■ British nuclear-powered and armed Trident
submarines would be removed from Scottish waters
of the River Clyde by 2020.

■ There would be no border checks with England.

It is unclear how independence would affect the

United States, where a 2009 U.S. Community
Census found that 6.8 million Americans claim

direct Scottish ancestry and 27.5 million claim
some Scottish heritage. The majority live in
southern states, including North Carolina, South
Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Alex Salmond, Scotland’s first minister, attends
parades for Scotland Week in several U.S. cities
every year. He likes to point out that Scots played a
big role in the Declaration of Independence; an
estimated third of its signatories were either Scots
by birth or of Scottish descent.

Scottish-Americans and others provide a massive
income stream through tourism, says Scott
Macnab, senior political journalist at the Edinburgh
newspaper The Scotsman.

“The diaspora is big, a huge influence,” Macnab
told me over coffee in the modern Parliament
building, just across the street from Holyrood
Palace, the 800-year-old official Scottish residence
of Queen Elizabeth (who would be retained as
monarch by an independent Scotland).

Besides tourism, the Scottish economy’s mainstays
are whiskey, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas.

Still, an independent Scotland would have to
figure out what to do with thousands of its soldiers
in the British armed forces. If they all returned
home to join the new Scottish army, it might break
the military budget, raising the possibility that
each would have to decide where to serve.

Last winter, I spoke with a Scottish soldier who

42 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Dr. Scholl’s is a registered
trademark of MSD Consumer
Care, Inc. © 201 4 MSD
Consumer Care, Inc.

MagicCling™ is a A

trademark of
Haband Company.

Soft padded
microsuede
insole

Traction

Treaded!

SHIPPING!

COMFORT CASUAL m „

LEATHER SHOES •*

per pair

Reg. 39.99

All the Best Features
at the Very Best Price:

* Genuine Leather Uppers! Our most
buttery-soft, long-wearing leather with
supple, durable manmade trim!

* Comfort-Flo Design Outsole! Custom
designed for us, this outsole passes air
through the shoe with each and every step
you take!

if One-Strap MagicCling ™! No bothersome
laces, just a quick & easy MagicCling™ strap
that never comes undone!

if AVAILABLE IN SIZES UP TO 14EEE!

Plus , FREE SHIPPING! Order Today!

COMFORT CASUAL

LEATHER SHOES

now

only

2 pairs 56.97 • 3 pairs 81.95 • 4 pairs

99 '

per

pair

#1 Bargain Place
Jessup, PA 18434-1834

Steel arch
support

Cooling air
tunnels

EVA heel insert
absorbs shock

Lightweight
flexible TPR
outsole

COMFORT-FLO DESIGN

Breathable perforated Shock-absorbing
sock & insole v s foam

Stitched-in \ — / |_| |

arch support

Layers of
fabric for
excellent
flexibility

Haband #1 Bargain Place, Jessup, PA 18434-1834

□ Visa □ MC

□ Discover®
Network

Card # .

□ AmEx □ Check

_Exp.: .

Mr. Mrs. Ms.

Address Apt. #

City & State Zip

Phone/Email

Send pairs. I enclose $_

shipping. In GA add sales tax.

. purchase price plus toward

D Widths:

7 7% 8 8% 9 9/ 2
10 IO /2 11 12 13 14

*EEE Widths ($4 more per pair):

7/ 2 8 8% 9 9/2 10
10)4 11 12 13 14

FREE SHIPPING!

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

or Full Refund of merchandise
purchase price.

On-Line Quick Order

Imported

WHAT

SIZE?

WHAT

WIDTH?

HOW

MANY?

BROWN

BLACK

DRIFTWOOD

GREY

DARK TAN

When you pay by check, you authorize us to use information from your check to clear it electronically. Funds may be withdrawn from
your account as soon as the same day we receive your payment, and you will not receive your check back from your financial institu-

For Faster Service Call: 1-800-543-4810 or visit www.Haband.com/bestdeals

had just returned from serving two years in
Afghanistan. He doubts many Scots in the British
army would join a new militia-type Scottish force.

It would be a downgrade from the large British
army with its helicopters, fighters, missiles, ships
and chance for promotion, he said.

If Scotland disposes of the nuclear weapons on
its territory, NATO could deny it membership as a
separate state, Macnab warns. But he noted that
“lots of military ships go north of Scotland between
Iceland and the Arctic. Recently, Russian ships
went into Scottish water due to bad weather, but
some thought it was to test our reaction time. It
shows the strategic importance of Scotland.”

Another concern is that Britain may no longer
build its warships on the River Clyde. By canceling
a contract for two new aircraft carriers and a new
generation of frigates, many good jobs would be
eliminated.

When I visited the northern city of Inverness,

I heard a British civil servant discussing the issue
of independence with a Scottish woman managing
a downtown shop. Harris Tweed jackets hung on
the racks, and visitors sorted through traditional
scarves and wool throws woven in clan patterns.

“Doesn’t every Scot feel in his or her heart a
longing for independence?” he asked.

“Yes,” the woman quietly responded. “I will also
vote for independence.”

In 2013, Scottish-born Andy Murray won the
Wimbledon tennis championship - the first such
victory by a Brit in more than 70 years. British
Prime Minister David Cameron was seen on TV
applauding the victory. But just behind him in the
stands, Salmond unfurled the Saltire - the blue-
and-white Scottish flag. This was seen as an insult,
a challenge and another effort to insert celebrities
into the political issue of independence. Sir Sean
Connery has not been vocal in recent years, but
the actor was a leading voice in the push for
independence a decade ago.

In London, the three major political parties have
been united in opposing Scotland’s independence
and launched the “Better Together” campaign to
persuade the Scots not to leave.

Together they pose tough questions, particularly
on health care. Would Scots retain access to the
British national medical system? Would Scots
having heart attacks be prevented from crossing
the border to seek help?

Security is also an issue. An independent
Scotland wouldn’t have many soldier jobs but
would instead need ships and planes to patrol the

increasingly busy Arctic region as warmer
temperatures open it to navigation.

There’s also education. With a more leftist
inclination than England, Scotland has kept its
acclaimed university education free even as the rest
of Britain installed U.S. -style annual fees
approaching $9,000 a year. Will English students be
ousted from Scottish schools, and will Scottish
students in England be charged the higher rates
paid by foreigners?

The “Better Together” campaign implied that
Scottish cellphones would be charged roaming fees
inside England, or charged to call English numbers,
if Scotland went independent. The phone
companies later denied it. But the backlash against
the scare campaign may push many toward
supporting independence.

Finally, Salmond muddied the waters by saying
he wants to keep the British pound as the currency
for a free Scotland. This would allow the Bank of
England to make critical decisions affecting
interest rates and currency supply, with major
consequences for Scotland.

When the Cold War ended nearly 25 years ago,
some spoke of the “end of history” - an ideological
triumph of capitalism and globalization over
socialism and isolated nation-states. That proved
illusory. Instead, the past quarter-century has been
punctuated, if not plagued, by a series of ethnic
and religious conflicts leading to splintering of
multi-ethnic societies.

Quebec nearly split from Canada in 1995.

Slovakia left the Czechs. Yugoslavia broke into
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia,
Montenegro and Serbia. Russia lost its Baltic states
as well as the Central Asian “Stans.” The Kurds,
the Palestinians, the Tutsis and various groups in
Ivory Coast, Nigeria, the western Sahara, Catalonia,
Chechnya, western China, South Sudan and
Senegal press on in their struggles for
independence.

Scotland seems so advanced that we can feel
assured a vote to secede would not be followed by
a violent transition. Even so, the dreams and ideas
of the Scottish people are deeply felt. As Macnab
told me in the Parliament lounge, “We’ve been
running everything since 1999: health, education,
services. And it’s all going pretty well. Why not go
for the whole thing, independence?” Cl

Ben Barber has been a journalist for more than
30 years. His latest book is “GROUNDTRUTH: Work ,
Play and Conflict in the Third World .”

44 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

U.S. GOVERNMENT ISSUED

2014 AMERICAN EAGLES

JUST $1 OVER COST

Coins Enlarged to Show Exquisite Detail

$5 GOLD EAGLE

1/10 oz Gold
Limit 5

CALL NOW TO ORDER

1 - 877 - 227 -COIN

(877) 227-2646

Vault Code: ALGSE- 0714

Mastercard • Visa • Amex • Discover

r 00

* Over TdeaJer Cost

$1 SILVER EAGLE

1 oz Silver
Limit 20

AMERICAN EAGLE RESERVE

Port Arthur, TX 77642
www.Aerlooms.com

Dealer cost at time of transaction, including merchant fees for credit card purchases. Coins shown are not actual size. Limit 5 gold coins and 20 silver coins per household. Price plus shipping. No sales tax on gold and silver
purchases. Prices subject to change without notice. Availability not guaranteed. New customers only. No dealers please. American Eagle Reserveis not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

sYes

A Yes

sYes

AYes

y Reliably Loud Prices
y tasy 7 o Use Website
yHuge Selection
yfast Skipped

-0wwjo^auto.cot*f

ROCKAJUTO.COM

ALL THE PARTS YOUR CAR WILL EVER MEED

LAST of the

CODE TALKERS

In his final interview. World War II Marine Chester Nez
reflected on his place in history.

BY HENRY HOWARD

Editor's note: The American Legion interviewed Chester Nez , last of the original 29 Navajo
Code Talkers , 10 days before he died.

As the Pacific theater of World War II darkened,
the United States searched for ways to keep its
military messages secret. The Japanese had broken
every code. In so doing, they were exacting heavy
damage in both troop numbers and morale.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, civil-
ian Philip Johnston proposed using the little-known
Navajo language to transmit confidential communi-
cations. Marine Corps officers were skeptical but
gave the go-ahead to test the concept, a decision
that proved instrumental for victory in the Pacific.

The incredibly precise Navajo language was an
ideal way to mask a code. With elaborate syntax,
grammar and tones, it could easily throw off a
nonspeaker trying to listen in. Only about 30
non-Navajos understood the language at all, and it
did not appear in books.

When the mission was declassified long after the
war, the Japanese acknowledged the success of the
Navajo Code Talkers. “If the Japanese Imperial
Intelligence Team could have decoded the Navajo
messages, the outcome of the battles on Saipan
and Iwo Jima might have been different; the
history of the Pacific war might have turned out
completely different,” according to the Fuji Evening
News in Tokyo.

Long before Marines famously planted a U.S. flag
on Iwo Jima, actual Navajos had to be recruited to
create and transmit the code.

“Either you want to go, or you don’t want to go.

I said, Til go,”’ Chester Nez explained in his final
interview, raising his hand for emphasis. His 2011
memoir, “Code Talker,” co-authored by Judith Avila,
offers a firsthand window into this chapter of World
War II history.

WE ARE WARRIORS' The Marines selected
Nez and 28 other young Navajo men to serve as
the original 29 code talkers. They had never left
their reservations in the southwestern United

States except to attend boarding schools. Ironically,
the strict English-only rule made possible their
selection, as the Marines needed bilingual Navajos.

Life had been difficult but traditional growing up
for Nez - whose clan name was Dibe Lizhinf, or
Black Sheep - on the Checkerboard area of the
Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. The summers
were brutally hot, winters brutally cold. Elders in
his tight-knit family taught Nez and his siblings
about the Navajo tradition of the “Right Way,”
which he describes in his book as a “balance
between individuals, but also between each person
and his world.”

In 1941, the reservation’s slow, quiet tempo was
a stark contrast to a world at war. Young Nez
realized almost immediately that he’d be called
upon. “Our country has joined the war,” he said in
his book, recalling a conversation with his friend
and future code talker Roy Begay. “I think the
military will want us. We are warriors.”

When Nez and the others were recruited to be
code talkers, they were not told of their future
mission. After basic training, they were sent to a
secured room at Camp Elliott, near San Diego, and
given their assignment: create an unbreakable
code using your native tongue.

Thus began the work of the all-Navajo 382nd
Marine Platoon.

The men agreed to devise a twice-encrypted
code, using an English word (usually a common
word for an animal or plant) to represent each
letter of English. Those words would then be
translated into Navajo, and the Navajo word would
represent the English letter. All subscribers to the
“Right Way” belief, they created and executed
flawless codes for Marine officers and were given
the green light to expand the mission.

Watch the Chester Nez video online:

® www.legion.org/magazine

46 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

Nez and other Navajo Marines then went to
Guadalcanal, where they landed on beaches,
braved enemy fire and sent secret messages from
the battlefield.

Using a walkie-talkie, one team member would
send messages in Navajo to a code talker on the
other end. “It is very, very dangerous when you
are sending that code,” said 93-year-old Nez, who
was a special guest at American Legion Memorial
Day events in Kansas last May. “They are shooting
at you, and you had to be like a jack rabbit.”

He easily recalled the first code he sent: “Beh-na-
ali-tsosie a-knah-as-donih ah-toh nish-na-jih-goh
dah-di-kad ah-deel-tahi.” Translation: “Enemy
machine gun nest on your right flank. Destroy.”

The code talkers were not just sending and
translating messages with their 30-pound ma-
chines. They were in the heart of the battle,
translating orders while finding cover.

“Bullets (were) flying all over,” Nez recalled.
“Hand grenades, too. It’s a very difficult story to
talk about. Some of my best friends got shot, shot
down. It’s something that you never forget. Some-
times it almost makes you cry when you see a real
close buddy get shot. I was very lucky to come
through the combat.”

Faith played a major role for Nez and the others
in battle. Once the families at home learned the
young men were Marines, they prayed for them
several times each day. Even overseas, the code
talkers felt connected.

“Chester told me during our interviews that
when he was in a battle, he could hear the sheep
bells,” Avila says. “He could physically hear them.
And so could the other men. And they knew that
when they heard the sheep bells, they knew their
families were praying for them.”

A PROUD NATION Nez also served at Bou-
gainville, Guam, Peleliu and Angaur, where he and
the other code talkers continued to pass along
secret messages, fight the enemy and long for home.

After Nez was discharged, he traveled to his
serene homeland - a far cry from the jubilant
homecomings in major cities that welcomed other
troops home. He arrived in Gallup, N.M., by bus,
then hitchhiked toward the reservation, where he
reunited with his father, siblings and grandmother.
(His mother died at a young age.)

But when Nez and other code talkers returned
home, they could not tell anyone what they had
done, in the event they would be called upon
again. “Everything was strictly secret,” he said.

Finally in 1968, the silence was broken when the

mission was declassified. “They (family members)
were very, very excited, very proud that the
Marines chose the Navajo as the code talker
language,” Nez said.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton signed a bill
honoring the code talkers. The next year, President
George W. Bush personally presented the Congres-
sional Gold Medal to the survivors. Each accepted
the medal and shook Bush’s hand - including Nez,
who also saluted the commander in chief.

ALWAYS A MARINE Nez lived his life with
two mantras: the “Right Way” of the Navajo and
the Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis. He finished high
school and later received a degree in fine arts from
the University of Kansas. He served in the Korean
War as a Marine Corps reservist before raising a
family and working at the VA medical center in
Albuquerque, N.M., where he retired in 1974.

The last of the original code talkers, Nez traveled
with his grandson, Latham, and Avila to tout his
memoir and share the group’s legacy. His last
public event was sponsored by American Legion
Frontenac Post 43 in Pittsburg, Kan., in May.

By that time, much of Nez’s physical strength
was gone. The years had taken his hearing;
diabetes had claimed both of his legs several years
earlier. Even in his final days, however, his mind
was as sharp as his character, which was shaped
by his tribal and military families alike.

In Navajo, “always faithful” means that you love
and support everything that America stands for, he
said. “I am very proud to be one of those people
who helped out during World War II.”

His pride was evident, and his voice noticeably
rose and became clearer when he talked about
today’s Marines. During the Legion’s interview,

Nez gave a final order, in English:

“All you Marines out there, wherever you are:
Come home in one piece. As Cpl. Chester Nez,

I say to you guys that are out there: Semper Fidelis.
Take care and come home.” ||

Ten days after this interview , Nez died of kidney
failure at his home in Albuquerque. Family
members , the Navajo Hopi Honor Guard , Marine
Corps representatives , veterans and others gathered
at the city June 10 to pay their respects. After the
funeral Mass , a 2-mile-long cortege proceeded 55
miles to the national cemetery in Santa Fe, where
Nez was buried in Marine dress blues.

Henry Howard is deputy director of magazine
operations for The American Legion.

48 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

■d:ldJ

SHIPPING

Magnetic Posture Corrector Helps

SOOTHE & SUPPORT

Twelve —

400

GAUSS

SAVE $1 3

I Off Original Retail

Now Only

$ 16 "

Designed To:

wirai Posture

Reduc

Circulation

Stiffness

Pain

Pain Relieving Posture Support

Helps

Soothe Sore
Muscles &
Joints

Magnetic therapy has long been used by ancient and modern
cultures as a way to soothe sore muscles & joints, improve
circulation and relieve tension, pain and stiffness. There are
twelve 400 gauss magnets embedded along the spine and in
the lumbar area of your back. Imported of gently stretchable
neoprene, nylon & cotton. Measure by waist size.

Satisfaction Guaranteed or Return For Your Money Back

www.DreamProducts.com we m“ s 1 -800-530-2689

Receive A FREE SURPRISE GIF
With Every Order

CORRECT Your Posture!

INDICATE NUMBER OF ITEMS ORDERED UNDER SIZE

#83326
Regular (28”-38”)

#83327
Large (38”-48”)

#83328
X-Large (48”-60”)

Magnetic Posture Corrector(s) @ $16.99

CA residents must add 7.5% sales tax

FREE Regular Shipping

$ FREE

Handling Add $2.00 Each

. FOR EXPEDITED SHIPPING (optional)

1 y Add An Additional $2.95

(receive your order 5*7 days from shipment)

$2.95

Please Print Clearly TOTAL

Magnetic Posture Corrector

□ VISA O MasterCard □ Discover®/NOVUS SN/l Cards

Dept. 69929

Card#

Exp. Date

1 1 1 1 1

Name

Address

City ST Zip

Daytime Phone #

Email Address

Check or money order payable to: Dream Products, Inc.

Send Order To: 412 Dream Lane, Van Nuys, CA 91496

Not all recipients of our highest military honor have been U.S. natives,

BY AL MANCHESTER

In July 1950, Cpl. Tibor Rubin of the 8th Cavalry
staged a one-man rearguard on a hill while the rest
of his outfit pulled back toward Pusan, South
Korea. As the citation for his Medal of Honor reads,
he “inflicted a staggering number of casualties on
the attacking force during his personal 24-hour
battle, singlehandedly slowing the enemy advance
and allowing the 8th Cavalry Regiment to com-
plete its withdrawal.” Born in Hungary, Rubin was
a survivor of Holocaust concentration camps that
had taken most of his immediate family.

It comes as a surprise to some
Americans that many Medal of Honor
recipients are foreign-born. They
came from far away, responded to
America’s call to arms, and events
placed them in dangerous circum-
stances where somebody had to take
control. Their responses were imme-
diate and selfless.

On Aug. 9, 1918, the 131st Infantry
Regiment, 33rd Division, attacked
Chipilly Ridge in France between two
British units. The Yanks went over
with little artillery support, into the
face of deadly artillery and machine-gun fire.

When the two sergeants and lieutenant in Cpl.

Jake Allex’s platoon were wounded, he raised his
hand and shouted for survivors to follow him. And
when they were held up by a machine-gun nest,
Allex continued the attack alone.

Jake Allex was originally Aleksa Mandusic, born
in Turkish-dominated Serbia in 1887. He had

immigrated to the United States to avoid service in
the Turkish army fighting fellow Serbs. He was 6
feet tall, weighed about 220 pounds, and after
years of work in U.S. meatpacking plants and
along railroads, he was enormously strong. He
lobbed three hand grenades at the machine-gun
nest and then jumped in with fixed bayonet. When
the bayonet broke, he continued to fight with the
butt of his rifle. By the time the German position
was indisputably his, he had killed five and
captured 15. Besides the Medal of Honor, his

decorations include British, French and
Italian medals. His Victory Medal held
four battle clasps.

A Finn with a shotgun, Johannes S.
Anderson, silenced a machine gun and
brought in 23 prisoners. Marine Corps
Sgts. Louis Cukela and Matej Kocak,
both born in the Austria-Hungary area,
were awarded their medals for action in
the same general area on the same day:
July 18, 1918.

A Dutchman, Sgt. Ludovicus M.M. Van
Iersel, had a busy war. In 1917, he helped
rescue British seamen when their ship
was torpedoed in heavy seas. He earned his Medal
of Honor for crossing a wrecked bridge under fire to
reconnoiter German positions on the other side.

Moored just off Ford Island on Dec. 7, 1941, USS
Utah made an irresistible target for Japanese pilots,
who put two torpedoes into it. The ship quickly
flooded and began to capsize. Below decks, Chief
Watertender Peter Tomich kept vital machinery

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Chief Watertender Peter
Tomich, World War II

50 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

working while he secured the boilers. Realizing
the ship’s fate, he stayed at his post to evacuate
personnel. When Utah capsized and sank, Tomich
went down with it. His Medal of Honor was on
display at the Navy’s Senior Enlisted Academy
until 2006, when it was presented to his family on
board USS Enterprise at Split, Croatia. Tomich had

served in the Navy since
1919 and was an Army
veteran of World War I.
The wreck of Utah is still
visible and is considered a
™ ^ ^ war grave.

Among the Medals of
Honor awarded to foreign-
born men for service in
World War II is that of
Isadore Jachman, born in
Berlin in 1922. He lost
many relatives in the
Holocaust, including six

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Staff Sgt. Isadore
Jachman , World War II

aunts and uncles.

On Jan. 4, 1945, Staff Sgt. Jachman was with
the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Flam-
ierge, Belgium, where his unit took heavy fire
when two German tanks attacked their position.
Taking a bazooka from a fallen comrade, Jachman
engaged the tanks, disabling one and forcing both
to pull out. He was mortally wounded during the
battle. Flamierge later built a monument to honor
the soldier who stood alone against tanks. His
Medal of Honor is now displayed in the National
Museum of American Jewish Military History.

Pedro Cano was among the World War II Medal
of Honor recipients to
survive the war. His
family received his medal
March 18, when President
Barack Obama awarded 24
Medals of Honor to men -
some posthumously - for
acts of valor in World War
II, Korea and Vietnam.

In December 1944, Pvt.
Cano was with the 8th
Infantry Regiment, 4th
Division, as it fought
through the Hiirtgen
Forest. When his company
became tied down by machine-gun fire, Cano
advanced alone with a bazooka and wiped out the
two enemy emplacements holding them up. He
then knocked out two more machine-gun nests
that had stopped another U.S. unit. The next day,

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Pvt. Pedro Cano ,

World War II

he eliminated three
more nests. Later on, when
his platoon was am-
bushed, he threw a gre-
nade that killed or wound-
ed all the German soldiers
closing in on them.

The Medal of Honor
recommendation for
Vietnam War recipient
Leslie Sabo Jr. was lost
until 1999. Sabo was
Hungarian, born in
Austria in 1948. On May 10, 1970, he was serving
in Cambodia with the 101st Airborne. During what
came to be known as the “Mother’s Day ambush,”
Sabo protected the wounded, gathered ammunition
from fallen men and provided covering fire for
incoming helicopters. Already wounded, he was
killed when he crawled forward to knock out an
enemy bunker. Obama awarded Sgt. Sabo’s medal
to his widow May 16, 2012.

The 24 Medals of Honor awarded at the White
House in March went to men who might have been
overlooked because of ethnicity or religion. In fact,
Cano may have been overlooked because he was
not a U.S. citizen in 1945. Regardless, the nation
holds these selfless and brave warriors in the
deepest esteem, no matter their ethnicity, religion
or country of origin. ||

Al Manchester is a writer and photographer living in
New Mexico.

Congressional Medal of Honor Society

Sgt. Leslie Sabo Jr.,
Vietnam War

Beyond the call of duty

The original Medal of Honor was established by
Congress on July 12, 1862. The defining phrase from the
1862 act states that the medal would be presented "to
such non-commissioned officers and privates as shall
most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action,
and other soldier-like qualities ..." This act prevailed
until 1918.

Congress approved the following act on July 9, 1918:
"The President is authorized to present, in the name of
Congress, a medal of honor only to each person who,
while an officer or enlisted man of the Army, shall
hereafter, in action involving actual conflict with an
enemy, distinguish himself conspicuously by gallantry
and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond
the call of duty."

That last phrase distinguishes the Medal of Honor
from all other U.S. medals awarded for valor.

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 51

Since the
founding of Gold
Star Mothers, Inc., in 1929,
The American Legion has
been a strong supporter by
conducting Gold Star
ceremonies and passing
resolutions. During its
Spring Meetings in May, the
National Executive

Gold Star son honored
for paying it forward

Committee passed
Resolution No. 22 to ensure
that American Legion
departments support the
criteria established for the
issuance of both Gold Star
and Next of Kin of Deceased
Personnel lapel buttons, and
to provide public awareness
of the significance of the
two before and during Gold
Star Banner ceremonies.

The Gold Star lapel button
is presented to surviving
family members of
servicemembers who lost
their lives in combat. The
Next of Kin of Deceased
Personnel lapel button is
presented to the primary
next of kin of
servicemembers who lost
their lives while serving on
active duty, not in a combat
zone, or while assigned in an
Army Reserve or Army

Myles Eckert found a $20 bill in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel,
wrapped it in a note and handed it to an Air National Guardsman dining
with his family inside. The note read, in part, “My dad was a soldier.

He’s in heaven now. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your
lucky day! Thank you for your service.”

Paying it forward to servicemembers makes the 9-year-old Gold Star
son from Waterville, Ohio, “happy, happy, happy,” he says, “because it
reminds me of my dad.”

His heart-tugging story aired on CBS Evening News and whipped up a
wave of social media buzz.

Army Sgt. Gary Eckert was killed in Iraq in 2005, when Myles was
four weeks old. The boy says he feels “like the spirit of my dad is in me”
when he wears his father’s dog tags and wedding ring around his neck,
which he did May 16 when the American Legion Family of Ohio honored
him alongside his mother Tiffany and 10-year-old sister Marlee during the
51st Sons of The American Legion Detachment of Ohio Convention.

“In one instant, a young man personified everything our organization
is about: paying it forward to veterans,” said Jason Graven, the
Department of Ohio’s internal affairs director.

Myles received an honorary lifetime SAL membership to Squadron 587
in Toledo, Ohio, and a $5,000 donation was made in his name to the
Folds of Honor Foundation. He also received other gifts, including a
plaque from American Legion National Commander Dan Dellinger.

“They say integrity is doing the right thing when nobody is looking,”
SAL National Commander Joe Gladden said when recognizing Myles.
“That’s what you did that day.”

As for the boy, the sight of a soldier always brings his dad to mind.
“You should respect soldiers every day,” he said.

- Cameran Richardson

National Guard unit in a drill
status. Both lapel buttons
are acquired and presented
by the U.S. Department of
Defense.

Watch the CBS Evening News video online:
www.legion.org/sons

52 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

ORIGINAL U.S. GOV’T
MORGAN SILVER DOLLARS!

National Collector’s Mint announces a special limited release of 2,541 Morgan Silver Dollars
93-136 years old at $29 each. Several prominent national dealers charge $46 MORE for a
comparable Morgan Silver Dollar. These Morgans are among the last surviving originals still in
existence, and each coin is guaranteed to be in mostly Brilliant Uncirculated to Fine condition.

Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis and a limit of 100 coins per customer will
be strictly adhered to. Timely mail orders will be accepted if directed to: National Collector’s Mint,
Dept. 7389, 8 Slater St., Port Chester, NY 10573. THIS OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN AT ANY
TIME WITHOUT NOTICE AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF NCM.

You may order one Morgan for $29 plus $4 s, h & ins., 3 for $94 ppd., 5 for $154.50 ppd., 10 for
$303 ppd., 20 for $599 ppd., 50 for $1480 ppd., 100 for $2935 ppd. 60-Day Money Back Guarantee:
If you’re not 100% delighted with your purchase simply send us your postage paid return within 60
days for a refund of your purchase price. CALL NOW!

® Credit cards & check by telephone A QAA ^TQQ /ZA /ZQ
accepted, call Toll-Free, Ext. 7389 |"|yl 11 F" / O

National Collector’s Mint, Inc. is an independent, private corporation not affiliated with, endorsed, or
licensed by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Mint. Offer not valid in CT or MN. ©2014 ncm ei-esi

Special Offer - Save $100 Per Person
if Reserved by September 30th!

Hawaii

Four-Island Tour

Discover Paradise

13 days from $1799

Departs March 4, 2015.

Explore Oahu,

Kauai, Maui and
the “Big Island” of
Hawaii and stay at
beachfront hotels! Tour
Honolulu, including Waikiki Beach,
Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona.
Experience Opaekaa Falls, the
Fern Grotto, Thurston’s Lava Tube
and Volcanoes National Park.

*PPDO. Plus $199 tax/service/government fees.
Alternate departure dates available. Seasonal
charges may apply. Add-on airfare available.

Call for Details!

vacations 888-81 7-9538

It'stime to travel

Promo Code EM09178

^MERIC4

MN1X/P

FIELD MATCH
$5995 each
wjfree shipping

> FIELD WATCH

□ W3006AL

also, any

PURCHASE WILL
AUTOMATICALLY

enter you in our

SWEEPSTAKES!

iff

ONLY ONE LUCKY VET
WILL HAVE A CHANCE
TO WIN THIS JEEP!
GO ONLINE TO ENTER
FOR FREE & SEE ALL
THE OFFICIAL RULES!

MEDALS

www.MedalsofAmerica.com

Medals of America wants our Veteran
customers to have a chance at winning this
2014 Jeep Wrangler. Simply go online at
MedalsofAmerica.com/Special or mail your
name and address on this form to enter.

limited time watch deal.

get YOURS TODAY!
Medals of America Deals, 114 Southchase Blvd, Fountain Inn, SC 29644

Enclosed is my check or money order for: $ or Credit Card

Shipping/Billing Address: Exp Date CVV

Name.

-Address .

1 - 800 - 308-0849

City State Zip,

E-mail Address

Phone

visa

yr j | rw • m<mtm T If T Watch Offer cannot be combined with other offers. Pricing & items subject to change. Valid on select merchandise only. Offer only valid while supplies

lY16QalS01iill,l6riCai C O ill/ d Jr uwllilj last. Allow 3-4 weeks for delivery. This form can be used to sign up for the sweepstakes even if you don’t want the watch (leave credit info blank).

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Sweepstakes ends 02/28/15 and is subject to full Official Rules available atwww.medalsofamerica.com. Open only to legal US residents in the 48 contiguous US and DC, 18 years of age or older,
who have served or are serving in one of these branches of military: (i) United States Army, (ii) United States Navy; (iii) United States Air Force; (iv) United States Marine Corps; or (v) United States Coast Guard at the time of entry. To enter: (1) With
a purchase: Entrants who place an order with Medals of America, LTD will receive one (1) entry for every order placed. (2) Without a purchase: Mail your 3x5 card in a postage-affixed envelope to: ‘MOA Jeep” 114 Southchase Blvd, Fountain Inn, SC,
29644. Mail entries must be postmarked by February 28, 2015 and received by March 7, 2015. One (1) Grand Prize of a 2014 Jeep® Wrangler. Odds of winning are dependent upon the total number of entries received during the Sweepstakes Period.
See Official Rules above for complete rules and prize restrictions. Sponsor: Medals of America, LTD, 114 Southchase Blvd, Fountain Inn, SC, 29644. Void outside the 48 US and DC, and where restricted or prohibited by law.

RAPID FIRE

•ft •&£

•- A*’ * '■ . ,^^^5;;, ’ j ^►«' r * *

TROOP SUPPORT

Antique tractor owners raise funds for OCW

A group of antique tractor owners, meandering across
Nebraska at 12 mph, collected and donated $4,300 for The
American Legion's Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW)
program in early June.

More than 160 farmers participated in at least one
segment of the nine-day, 425-mile Tractor Relay Across
Nebraska. This was the third year for the event but its first
time as a fundraiser. OCW was selected as the beneficiary.

"There are a lot of veterans in our association or people
with family members in the military, so this seemed like an
appropriate donation," said relay coordinator Donelle
Moormeier of Cortland, Neb. "OCW is a very good cause and
something that we would like to support because of all

that our veterans do
for us."

The farmers
appreciated the fact
that 100 percent of
donations to OCW go
toward gifts or
recreational activities
for wounded
servicemembers and
their family members.

"It was very
important for us to
know this money was

going to the vets and their families," said Moormeier, who
drove the entire route with a U.S. flag displayed on her 1966
International Harvester tractor.

Indeed, the fundraising efforts had greater results than
the group anticipated. "Sometimes you don't think people
are interested in veterans," she said. "It reaffirmed my faith in
the people of Nebraska. They do appreciate what the
veterans and the military do for us. Everybody in the towns
welcomed us and were happy we were driving for OCW."

Throughout the event, American Legion posts and other
community organizations welcomed, fed and cheered the
farmers. On the seventh day, Post 203 in McCook sponsored
a community cookout in a park to welcome the farmers and
solicit OCW donations.

"Just having a hand in this makes me proud to be able to
help our young servicemen and women," said Dan Stramel,
commander of Post 203 and a retired Marine. "It's an honor
to help provide the dollars needed for comfort items for
their relaxation."

World War II veteran Wendell Argotsinger was one of 10 or
so farmers who traveled the entire route. "OCW sounds like
a wonderful cause," said Argotsinger, 86, of Denison, Iowa. "I
hope they continue to get some more donations."

Moormeier is optimistic that future tractor rallies will
choose OCW. To her, the program is important because of
who it helps, as illustrated by a conversation she had
midway through the event.

Nebraska Department Commander
Dave Bruckner welcomes the relay

drivers. Photo by Gregory Blobaum

54 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

60 miles

Longest one-day stretch
of the tractor relay

75 years

Age of the oldest tractor
driven in the relay

Number of registered
farmers who drove
in the tractor relay

Amount given by an
anonymous donor in
McCook

Total raised in donations
to OCW

top: Farmers drive antique tractors in the third annual Tractor
Relay Across Nebraska, which chose the Legion's Operation
Comfort Warriors program as its charity.
above: The tractors generally hit 12 mph during the ride across
Nebraska, covering up to 60 miles per day. Photos by Lucas Carter

"The other night in Alma, one gal said, 'I just have to thank
you. My husband is a vet, and you don't know how
important this is to us/"

- Henry Howard

Go online to see a video about the tractor rally,
learn more about OCW or make a donation:

www.legion.org/ocw

RAPID FIRE

TROOP SUPPORT

Dellinger visits Fort Knox,
brings OCW gift

National Commander Dan Dellinger traveled to Fort
Knox, Ky., on April 30, where he presented a theater-sized
industrial popcorn maker and accessories to the Warrior
Transition Battalion (WTB), courtesy of The American
Legion's Operation Comfort Warriors program.

About 330 wounded, injured or ill troops and their
families access the Soldier and Family Assistance Center
(SFAC), where the donation will be used.

"Without funding, we are at the mercy of our donors,"
says Isadora Ewing, Fort Knox SFAC director. "The
American Legion has really poured its heart out. Popcorn
is one of the snacks we like to offer soldiers, spouses and
their children."

The donation is the latest in a series of morale-boosting
gifts and recreational equipment OCW has provided to
Fort Knox in recent years. Dellinger assured officials that
the support will continue.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky American Legion is
converting the St. George House, the base's former VIP
quarters, to a lodge where family members can stay while
visiting loved ones assigned to the WTB.

"There is no Fisher House here," says Peter Trzop, the
department's public relations and legislative director.

"The St. George House was being used primarily for
storage and was scheduled for demolition. We've been
raising funds, including a $5,500 grant from Home Depot,
to provide a place for visiting families to stay at no cost to
them. We hope to have it completed this year."

Despite the support of The American Legion and other
organizations, Brig. Gen. Peggy Combs - the first female
commander at Fort Knox - concedes that defense cuts
will take a toll on the military community.

"You have to pay the piper at the same time (we have
to) optimize the fleet," says Combs, a member of Post
1448 in Oriskany, N.Y. "Some soldier and family programs
will be hurt. We have to look at what's essential."

In the meantime, "just keep helping our veterans," she
told Dellinger. "We stand on the shoulders of giants."

- John Raughter

RAPID FIRE

HONOR & REMEMBRANCE

The Eyes of Freedom

Initially, Marine Corps veteran Mike Strahle had a hard
time looking at the life-size portraits honoring 23 men he
served alongside in Iraq. Now he escorts the exhibit -
called the "Eyes of Freedom" memorial - around the
country, serving alongside his men again.

Ohio-based Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine
Regiment - once known as "Lucky Lima" - lost 22 Marines
and a Navy corpsman in 2005 to lEDs and enemy fire.

Through a dream, Ohio artist Anita Miller was inspired
to paint the fallen men, and the eight portraits - each 8.5
feet tall and 6 feet wide - were unveiled at the Ohio
Statehouse on Memorial Day 2008.

"It's sad and it's going to make people angry," says
Strahle, the memorial's director. "But the main objective is
for them to go through all the emotions and come out
walking taller and more aware, more proud, of what our
servicemen and women have done to protect us."

In May, the American Legion Department of Indiana
and Indiana Funeral Care brought the Eyes of Freedom to
Greenwood for three days. Departments and posts can
partner with other community groups to host the
memorial, and Legion Riders often escort it. The paintings
travel in a freight truck provided by R+L Carriers of
Wilmington, Ohio.

Since 2011, the Eyes of Freedom has visited 15 states.

A pair of each fallen warrior's boots sits beneath his
image, along with a candle. "The burning candles signify
that the 22 Marines and the Navy corpsman live on,"
Strahle says. Visitors are encouraged to leave notes or
mementos in the boots for the men's families.

"I have the best job ever," he continues. "I'm still
connected with my men. When veterans from all eras
come to the exhibit, they are standing in front of my men,
but they are seeing the guys they served with. It's
very healing."

To ask about hosting the Eyes of Freedom memorial in
your community, visit its website:

56 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

VERBATIM

To Sgt. Bergdahl, I say, 'Welcome
home. Your family has waited far too
long to see you, and we are happy
that your five-year nightmare has
ended/ To the administration, I say.
The American Legion has some

very serious concerns.

National Commander Dan Dellinger,

responding to news that the White House
swapped five high-value terror suspects
at Guantanamo Bay for the sole U.S. prisoner
of war in Afghanistan. Dellinger called
the deal "troubling," suggesting it
could provide incentives for the
kidnapping of Americans and allow
the detainees to return to the
battlefield. He also urged DoD
to review the circumstances
surrounding Bergdahl's
initial disappearance.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

Our Pacific assets

330,000
180

U.S personnel tasked to the
Asia-Pacific theater

U.S. warships tasked to the Asia-Pacific theater

2,000

U.S aircraft tasked to the Asia-Pacific
theater

Source: do\)/ Los Angeles Times

MILITARY AFFAIRS

New lease in Djibouti

The United States has signed a 20-year lease on the
military base in Djibouti. The tiny country on the Horn of
Africa is home to Camp Lemonnier, which has served as a
key base in the war on terror since soon after 9/11.

When the Pentagon stood up U.S. operations at the
88-acre base in Djibouti, the commitment consisted of a few
hundred Marines and Special Operations forces. Today the
base spreads across 500 acres and houses some 4,000 U.S.
personnel and civilians. The New York Times reports.

Washington will pay Djibouti $70 million a year for
continued access to the base - a significant increase over
the previous annual payment of $30 million.

Perfect Choice HD™ is simple to use, hard to see and easy to afford. ..

The invention of the year
is great news for your ears.

NEW

Now with more
power and clarity!

ver the years,
digital electronic
technology has
made the way we live easier,
safer and more convenient.
In many cases, it’s even
made many products
more affordable...
(remember how much the
first VCR’s used to cost?).
Unfortunately, the cost
of many digital products,
including the hearing aid
never seemed to come
down. Now, a new option
has been invented... it’s
called Perfect Choice HD™.

Perfect Choice HD is NOT a
hearing aid. It is a Personal
Sound Amplification
Product (PSAP). Hearing
aids can only be sold by an
audiologist or a licensed
hearing instrument
specialist following
hearing tests and fitting
appointments. Once the
audiologist had you tested
and fitted, you would have
to pay as much as $5000 for
the product.

Now, thanks to the efforts
of the doctor who leads a
renowned hearing institute,
there is Perfect Choice HD.
It’s designed to accurately
amplify sounds and deliver
them to your ear. Because
we’ve developed an efficient
production process, we
can make a great product
at an affordable price. The

unit has been designed to
have an easily accessible
battery, but it is small and
lightweight enough to hide
behind your ear... only
you’ll know you have it on.
It’s comfortable and won’t
make you feel like you
have something stuck in
your ear. It provides high
quality audio so sounds and
conversations will be easier
to hear and understand.

Try it for yourself with our
exclusive home trial. Some
people need hearing aids
but many just want the
extra boost in volume that
a PSAP gives them. We
want you to be happy with
Perfect Choice HD, so we
are offering to let you try it
for yourself. If you are not
totally satisfied with this
product, simply return it
within 60 days for a refund
of the full product purchase
price. Don’t wait... don’t
miss out on another
conversation. . . call now!

Perfect

Choice HD"

Call now toll free for
the lowest price ever.

Please mention promotional
code 48200.

1 - 866 - 224-9573

Perfect Choice HD is not a hearing aid.

If you believe you need a hearing aid,
please consult a physician. Not available
in the state of Washington.

Virtually
impossible
to see.

RAPID FIRE

NATIONAL CONVENTION

Countdown to Charlotte

Williams to emcee opening ceremony
TV personality, radio host, actor and veteran Montel
Williams will open the 96th American Legion National
Convention in Charlotte.

Steve Pintarich, left, and Tony Coppola of Computer Sciences
Corp. were recognized by National Commander Dan Dellinger
for donating 1,400 laptops to servicemembers. Photo by joeDeiiaPorta

Charlotte airport’s USO open to delegates
The USO of North Carolina will give American Legion
delegates access to the Charlotte Center in the Charlotte
Douglas International Airport Aug. 18-31. You must register
in advance to use the facilities.

Charlotte Center is located on the upper level of the
main atrium above Burger King and can be reached by
taking staircases near the First In Flight bar. Elevators are
located in terminals A and D.

@ uso-nc.org/events/charlotte-center-the-american-
legion-national-convention

Training, workshops
The 96th National Convention will offer several
workshops covering digital media, the Legion's upcoming
100th Anniversary, the work of the Veterans Employment
& Education Division and more. Some require pre-
registration, while others are open to walk-ins.

@ www.legion.org/convention

National convention app
Download the 2014 National Convention App for quick
access to maps of downtown Charlotte, hotel
assignments, a list of convention and commission
speakers, and a daily news ticker with schedule updates
and other information. The app also includes links to
Twitter, the National Convention Facebook page and
convention headlines.

^ www.legion.org/mobileapps

Convention Facebook page

"Like" the 96th National Convention's
Facebook page to get the latest
information and interact with others
planning to attend.

^ www.facebook.com/
TheAmericanLegion
NationalConvention

LEGIONNAIRES IN ACTION

Connecticut post helps
keep troops connected

A one-time request for four used laptop computers has
become a nearly $600,000 charitable enterprise for
deployed and hospitalized U.S. troops and their families.

Back in 2009, Steve Pintarich - an employee of
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) - requested the
computers from his manager. A past commander of
Kiltonic Post 72 in Southington, Conn., he explained to his
boss, Tony Coppola, that the laptops were needed for a
fellow Legionnaire and other Guardsmen to communicate
by webcam while deployed to Kuwait.

"It was pretty simple for me," Coppola says. "You have
servicemembers risking their lives here and abroad. It
pales in comparison to what they do for us."

Because CSC was so supportive, Pintarich asked for
more computers. Laptops were shipped to survivors of
the COP Keating ambush in Afghanistan, other deployed
servicemembers and veterans attending college.

"Every month we deliver about 10 to 20 computers to
Walter Reed," Pintarich says. "I figure each computer
reaches 20 people. When I hear from a wife that her
deployed husband can now see his kids or his baby for
the first time - well, you just can't put a price on that."

In five years, more than 1,400 computers have been
donated and delivered to troops. With each worth around
$400, total donations have topped $560,000.

Greg Piazza, account general manager for CSC, agrees.
"The amount of good that these computers are now
doing veterans vs. the benefit of selling parts makes it a
no-brainer," he says.

On a visit to Post 72, National Commander Dan
Dellinger recognized Coppola and Pintarich with
certificates of appreciation.

One laptop recipient is Army 1st Lt. Thomas Eric
Zastoupil, who lost a leg in an IED blast while serving in
Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2012. Zastoupil was recovering
at Walter Reed when he sent a letter to CSC.

"Your generous gift of a laptop computer has allowed
me to be in touch with my family and friends here, as
well as my men back in Afghanistan," he wrote. "Your
generous gift has truly made a difference for me."

-John Raughter

What Adult
Diaper Companies
Don’t Want Men
To Know . . .

Health risks and high
out-of-pocket costs . . .
men are unaware of
Liberty’s healthier

alternative!

ASK A SERVICE OFFICER

What to know
about non-Hodgkin
lymphoma benefits

Q: I am a Vietnam
War Navy veteran ,
and years ago I was
diagnosed with
non-Hodgkin
lymphoma.

I almost missed out
on VA benefits
because I didn't know
I was eligible.

A: There is a special
rule regarding
non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that
affects Blue Water and other Vietnam
War veterans. NHL is a cancer of the
lymph glands and other lymphatic tissue.
Early signs include swollen, painless
lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin
areas. Other signs may include fever,
night sweats, fatigue, weight loss,
abdominal pain or swelling, chest pain or
trouble breathing, and itchy skin.

VA presumes that NHL is related to
exposure to Agent Orange or other
herbicides during military service, service
in Vietnam or service in the offshore
waters during the Vietnam War era.
Veterans with NHL from exposure to
Agent Orange or other herbicides may
be eligible for disability compensation
and VA health care.

Additionally, surviving spouses,
dependent children and dependent
parents of veterans who were exposed
and died as the result of NHL may be
eligible for survivors benefits.

If you have any type of Vietnam
service, let your doctors know that you
may be at higher risk for certain diseases,
including NHL. If you don't understand a
diagnosis or lab result, ask for an
explanation. If you are diagnosed with
NHL due to service in Vietnam, speak
with a service officer about VA benefits.

Find an American Legion service officer
in your state:

www.legion.org/serviceofficers

Do you have a question for Department of
Missouri Service Officer Tracy Davis about
the claims process or veterans benefits in
general? Send it to askso@legion.org.

“Men s Liberty is terrific. I can keep
doing what I want to do, without
having to worry about running to the
bathroom or changing my clothes.

It is a Godsend. ” - John in Michigan

MEN'S

t TDrn'Tv

Millions of men spend
thousands of dollars each
year on diapers, which are
not covered by Medicare.
These men are paying
as much as $300 out of
pocket each month... Men’s
Liberty is covered by
Medicare, most state
Medicaids, VA/Tricare and
most private insurance plans

The Diaper Dilemma

Urinary incontinence affects more
than 4 million men in the United
States of all ages. Diapers trap
moisture, causing UTIs, discomfort
and injury rates up to 38%.

Men’s Liberty Alternative

There has not been a confirmed
UTI or serious skin injury caused
by Men’s Liberty, after more than
one million sold. This is a non-
invasive, external product that
allows men to improve their
lifestyle at work and quality of
time with family.

CALL TODAY!

1 - 800 - 814-3259

Ask if you qualify to
receive Men’s Liberty. We
handle all claims and billing
to Medicare and your
Insurance provider.

PROMO CODE:
AML0814

Hablamos Espahol

MEN'S

LIBERTY

The Freedom to Live

www.MensLiberty.com

Tracy L. Davis

Department Service
Officer, Missouri

RAPID FIRE

PERSONAL FINANCE

USAA®

Ask or you may not receive

J .J. MONTANARO

"The American Legion kicks butt"

... or words to that effect.

That's the message a young
woman shared with me about the
difficulties she encountered while
trying to access her veterans benefits.
She told me that an American Legion
service officer helped her navigate
the process.

That discussion, and a recent survey revealing that less
than 20 percent of veterans or their surviving spouses
acknowledged receiving any information on VA benefits in
the past year, prompted me to explain some of what's
available. You've earned the benefits, so you should at least
understand what they are.

■ Veterans pension This monthly tax-free benefit is
available to veterans and survivors with limited means.
Eligibility and the available benefit are based on a veteran's
income, deductible medical expenses and family status.

■ Aid & Attendance and Housebound Those who are
eligible for the pension and require assistance to perform
daily activities, or who are confined to their homes, may be
eligible for increased amounts.

■ VA home loans I wrote about this benefit earlier this
summer. It's one I've used several times. Being able to buy a
home without a down payment and no private mortgage
insurance is nice.

■ Dependency and Indemnity Compensation I'm

surprised at how often I run into surviving spouses who
aren't aware of this program. Generally, this tax-free
monthly benefit is available to survivors who have lost loved
ones from disease or injury while on active duty or as a

result of a service-connected disability. In 2014, the basic
monthly rate is $1,233.

■ Burial benefits Eligible veterans can be buried in a
national cemetery, and receive a burial flag, military honors
and even a headstone or marker for use at any cemetery.
There are more than 70 national cemeteries open for
interments. Also, in certain situations VA will provide burial
or internment allowances.

■ Home improvements and structural alterations

VA provides benefits of up to $6,800 to help build ramps,
lower sinks and counters or otherwise improve access
to homes.

■ Nursing home care VA has three main programs to
provide nursing home care. You have to be enrolled in the
VA system to access them, and priority goes to those with a
service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or higher.

■ Caregiver programs and services VA has a host of
programs to offer care, provide caregiver training and even
compensate those who provide care for veterans.

Of course, this is just the beginning in terms of
information, but if you or someone you know could benefit
from these services, look into them. Go online to
www.va.gov, or seek out the help of an American Legion
service officer.

In an uncertain world, here's a sure bet: you won't benefit
if you don't apply.

J.J. Montonoro is a certified financial planner with USAA, The
American Legion's preferred provider of financial services.
Submit questions for him online.

@ www.legion.org/focusonfinances

MYGI BILL

VETERANS & EDUCATION

BY VALERIE HEFFNER

EDUCATION

eBenefits good place
for young vets to start

Q: I have to admit that when I was discharged from
the Navy two years ago, I did not understand all my
benefits. I just wanted to go home. Is there a website
that will explain how I can apply for certain benefits?

Al The best website to help you understand and apply for your
benefits - education, vocational rehabilitation, home loans or VA
payment history - is eBenefits, at www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-
portal. Since you are the veteran, sign up for the premium account.
Family members should sign up for the basic account.

Valerie Heffner is a Marine Corps veteran and member of American
Legion Post 27 in Arizona, askvalerie@legion.org

VERBATIM

Everybody
is just in
shock right
now.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.,

on the primary loss of House GOP leader
Eric Cantor. The seven-term Virginia
congressman was defeated by David Brat,
an economics professor and political unknown
who accused Cantor of supporting amnesty
for illegal immigrants.

60 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

LEGION BASEBALL

Legion World Series
final live on ESPNU

The American Legion and the Shelby,
N.C., Baseball World Series Committee
have inked a five-year contract that will
expand the viewership of the American
Legion World Series (ALWS) to nearly
80 million people.

Starting with the 2014 ALWS this
month, the championship game will be
televised live by ESPNU. All games
leading up to the championship will still
be streamed live on ESPN3.com,
viewable on PCs, Macs and mobile
devices free of charge.

A pre-tournament concert lineup
includes performances by country music
artist Rodney Atkins, singer-songwriter
Corey Smith and the Charlie Daniels
Band.

See the full schedule of events online:

* www.legion.org/baseball

Try a DR® FIELD AND
BRUSH MOWER with our

6-MONTH

TRIAL

CLEAR meadows, trails, under-brush from
woodlots, pastures.

CUT 8-foot field grass, saplings 3 "
thick, tough brush.

CHOP everyth i ng into
small pieces.

Self-Propelled

Model

I.UMBIMBI

Try a DR®
at Home for
6 Months!

Call for details.

STUMP REMOVAL
FAST & EASY! ^

ELIMINATE Landscape
Eyesores with a
DR® STUMP GRINDER!

• EXPAND lawn areas.

• OPEN UP fields
and meadows.

• REMOVE mowing
hazards.

The DR® STUMP GRINDER
uses carbide-tipped cutting
teeth that take over 360
“bites” per second,
pulverizing stumps
into a pile of wood
chips. Quickly
and easily, you
can grind any
size tree stump
below ground level.

Gone forever!

MONTHLY

INTEREST

36 MONTHS

& FREE

LIMITED TIME OFFER
SO IN/I E LIMITATIONS APPLY

Just $ 12 95

SERVICE • VALOR • SACRIFICE

Honor the brave American heroes of
Vietnam with this 50th anniversary
engravable medal. Minted in the
U.S.A., the deep-relief, solid bronze
piece features impressive color and
an antique patina finish. JUST $12.95
(#46472). 5 for $60 ($12 each). 30-
Day No-Risk Home Examination:
Money-Back Guarantee.

International Coins & Currency
62 Ridge Street, Dept. N5460, Montpelier, VT 05602
1-800-451-4463
www.iccoin.com/n5460

U.S. Stamps Honor Greatest War Heroes

77 -Year-Old Stamp Set - Only $3

G et this complete mint set of U.S.

stamps honoring great American
military leaders for only $3 !

Historic 1936-37 stamp set honors
George Washington, Andrew Jackson,
Ulysses S. Grant and more.

The 10-stamp set is yours in mint-
fresh condition for only $3. You’ll also
receive special collector’s information
and other interesting stamps on
approval. Limit one set.

! 1936-37 U.S. War Heroes Stamps !

! S' Yes! Send my set of 10 U.S. War Heroes !
[ mint stamps. Enclosed is $3. My satisfaction is [
1 guaranteed. Limit one set. 1

1 Name ,

1 Address 1

i City/State/Zip I

i Please send payment to: i

[ Mystic Stamp Company
i Dept. X352, 9700 Mill St.

' Camden, NY 13316-9111 !

COMRADES

How to submit a reunion

The American Legion Magazine publishes
reunion notices for veterans. Send notices

to The American Legion Magazine, Attn:
Reunions, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN
46206, fax (317) 630-1280, e-mail reunions@
legion.org or submit information via our
website, www.legion.org/reunions.

Include the branch of service and complete
name of the group, no abbreviations, with your
request. The listing also should include the
reunion dates and city, along with a contact
name, telephone number and e-mail address.
Listings are publicized free of charge.

Your notice will appear on our Web site within
a week and will remain available online until
the final day of your reunion. Upon submission,
please allow three months for your reunion to
be published in print. Due to the large number
of reunions. The American Legion Magazine
will publish a group's listing only once a year.

Notices should be sent at least six months prior
to the reunion to ensure timely publication.

Other notices

"In Search Of" is a means of getting in touch
with people from your unit to plan a reunion.

We do not publish listings that seek people
for interviews, research purposes, military
photos or help in filing a VA claim. Listings
must include the name of the unit from which
you seek people, the time period and the
location, as well as a contact name, telephone
number and e-mail address. Send notices to
The American Legion Magazine, Attn: "In
Search Of," P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN
46206, fax (317) 630-1280 or e-mail reunions@
legion.org.

The magazine will not publish names of
individuals, only the name of the unit. Listings
are published free of charge.

Life Membership notices are published for
Legionnaires who have been awarded life

AIR FORCE / ARMY AIR FORCES

5th Bomb Group (H) Assn (WWII), San Antonio,
9/17-21, Richard O'Brien, (636) 287-3813,
barbrich79@aol.com; 6th Bomb Grp Assn
(Tinian, 1944-1945), Baltimore, 9/25-28, Glenda
Richards, (951) 233-4516, grr41797@msn.com;

11th Bomb Group (H), Rapid City, SD, 10/1-5,

Neal Siebenbruner, (507) 625-3240, nes@
hickorytech.net; 20th Heli Sqdn (Vietnam
& Thailand, All Yrs), Wichita, TX, 10/16-19,

Karl Nelson, (651) 380-4090, knelson1945@
mediacombb.net; 49th FIS (49th FSA),

Dayton, OH, 9/1 1 -14, John Jannazo, (850)
974-4459, john.jannazo@cubic.com; 78th Air/

Sec Police Sqdn (Hamilton AFB, CA, 1960-
1973), Gettysburg, PA, 9/22-27, Don Dalquest,
(785) 748-0650, doke1418@live.com; 93rd Bomb
Grp (H)(VH)(M) (1942-1952), WWII & Castle
AFB, 389th BG, 44th BG, B-24 Grps, Wright-
Patterson AFB, OH, 10/16-20, Jim Guddal,

(866) 694-9058, jguddal@yahoo.com; 379th
Bomb Grp WWII Assn, Nashville, TN, 9/3-7, Mike
Hart, (469) 633-0689, mike@379thbga.org; 384th
Bomb Grp 8th AF (WWII), Dayton, OH, 10/16-18,
Frank Alfter, (937) 306-2142, fjalfter@gmail.com

434th TCW, SOS, TFW, ARW (Bakalar AFB &
Grissom AFB/ARB, IN), Columbus, IN, 8/15-16,
Larry Alexander, (812) 372-5643, Iwalex88@
sbcglobal.net; 445th FIS, San Antonio, 10/28-31,
Larry Flinn, (210) 695-1944, lawrenceflinn@
me.com; 501st Tact Cntl Grp Assn & Mbr
Sqdns (Germany), Gatlinburg, TN, 9/22-25,

Ron Anderson, (701) 293-5473, halron117@
aol.com; 630th Eng LE Co, Branson, MO, 9/7-9,
Gerald Clemmons, (256) 757-2090; 712th
TROB, Nashville, TN, 8/30-9/1, Jim Werner,

(812) 550-3138, 712trob@gmail.com; 4477th Test
& Eval Sqdn, Las Vegas, 10/17-19, Ben Galloway,
(719) 683-8945, bgalloway5@elpasotel.net; AF
Postal and Courier Assn, New Orleans, 9/16-19,
Ernie Smith, (904) 824-3759, esmith-6@comcast.
net; Air Weather Recon Assn, Biloxi, MS,

9/17-21, Bernie Barris, (210) 696-5072, bbarris@
aol.com; Distinguished Flying Cross, Clearwater
Beach/St. Petersburg, FL, 9/21 -25, John Appel,
johneappel@yahoo.com; Pilot Tng Class 67C
(Reese AFB, TX), Colorado Springs, CO, 10/2-5,
Lee Mazzarella, (719) 660-8885, leetaxmazz@
gmail.com; Sampson AFB (3650th MTW),
Herndon, VA, 10/2-5, Walt Steesy, (607) 532-4204,
samafbvet@aol.com

ARMY

8th Armd Div, Bensalem, PA, 9/12-14, Andy
Waskie, (215) 423-3930, 8tharmoreddivision@
gmail.com; 12th MP Co (Guard) (Fort Riley,
KS), Kansas City, MO, 9/12-14, Alan Schwantz,
(507) 876-2253, alschwantz@hotmail.com; 13th
Armd Div "Black Cats" (WWII), Columbus/
Fort Benning, GA, 9/10-14, Jo Ellen Bender,

(630) 355-5332, jebender1520@aol.com; 30th
FA Bn, Urbana, IA, 9/11-13, Charles Ries, (319)
436-2079; 34th Eng Bn, San Diego, 9/17-21,
Brian Hamor, (207) 244-1151, npcr@aol.com;
39th Cbt Eng, Nashville, TN, 9/26-30, Bill Ray,

62 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE |

(817) 239-0787, bill39@sbcglobal.net; 92nd
Inf Div (Buffalos), Silver Spring, MD, 10/17-19,
Michael Moore, (856) 784-4092, sptgpeagle@
aol.com; 167th Sig Co (RR), Gettysburg, PA,
10/16-19, Charles Widener, (309) 547-2579,
catwide@sbcglobal.net; 205th Support Bn
205th Inf, Coon Rapids, MN, 9/21-21, Jerry
Charles, (763) 234-1376, chrlsjerr@msn.com;

281st Assault Heli Co , Branson, MO, 9/25-
28, Don Torrini, (618) 920-3810, donaldo12@
aol.com; 300th Eng Cbt Bn (WWII), Tyler, TX,
10/3-5, Brad Peters, (413) 422-2577, petersross@
crocker.com; 461st Ord Ammo Co (Korea,
1950-1952), Richfield, MN, 10/4, Dick Anderson,
(989) 466-4474, reabaa@outlook.com; 630th Eng
Co (LE) (Vietnam), Branson, MO, 9/18-20, Cecil
Brown, (731) 415-6460, ceclinbrown@charter.net
999th Armd FA Bn (Korea, 1950-1954), Branson,
MO, 9/25-28, John Eichler, (704) 542-2644,
eeichler5480@att.net; Army Med Cmd Japan
Assn, Las Vegas, 9/8-11, Charles W.S. Jezycki,

(707) 257-6818, charleswsj@msn.com; Army
Sec Agency Korea, Frankenmuth, Ml, 9/15-18,

Bob Rudolph, (269) 789-2860; Bravo Co 4th Bn
31st Inf Rgt 196th Light Inf Bde Americal Div
(Vietnam), Dunedin, FL, 10/2-5, Don Schroyer,
(727) 644-0912, deschroyer@yahoo.com; E Co
Mortar Pit 1st Bn 6th Inf 198th Light Inf
Americal Div (Vietnam, Oct 1967-Sept 1968),
Chicago, 9/19-20, Ted Fowler, (605) 229-4757,
carol222@abe.midco.net; MAAG Vietnam,
Nashville, TN, 10/23-26, Wayne McCaughey, (540)
450-8526, wmmccaughey@verizon.net; O Co
75th Ranger Rgt (Vietnam & Arctic Rangers
Alaska), Greensboro, NC, 9/26-28, Larry Lee, (812)
972-1396; Vung Rho Mtn Sig Complex & 261st
Sig Co, San Antonio, 9/29-10/3, George Fairfax,
(660) 826-3670, gfairfax@charter.net

COASTGUARD

Duane WHEC 33, Hyannis, MA, 10/15-19, Stan
Barnes, (603) 496-2679, sbarnes49@yahoo.com;
Western Great Lakes, Manitowoc, Wl, 9/20-21,
Jeff Lindstrom, (708) 214-0200, wglcgreunion@
gmail.com; Woodbine, Grand Haven, Ml, 7/30-
8/2, John Krueger, (616) 735-0085, jkrueger20@
comcast.net

JOINT

F4 Phantom Society, Tyndall AFB, Panama
City, FL, 10/20-23, Bill Crean, (856) 461-6637,
williamcrean@comcast.net

MARINES

2nd Topographic Co, Beaufort, SC, 10/26-29,
James Martin, (781) 572-7924, topotrooper@
aol.com; 6th Mar Div Assn, Quantico, VA,

10/7-12, Sharon Woodhouse, (503) 642-2429,
sjawoodhouse@gmail.com; A-1-11 Alpha North
(1965-1966), Las Vegas, 10/12-15, Gordon
Hansen, (928) 757-4882, glhansen@citlink.net

AUGUST 2014

memberships by their posts. This does not
include a member's own Paid-Up-For-Life
membership. Notices must be submitted
on official forms, which may be obtained by
sending a self-addressed stamped envelope
to The American Legion Magazine, Attn: Life
Memberships, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis,

IN 46206.

"Comrades in Distress" listings must be
approved by the Legion's Veterans Affairs &
Rehabilitation division. If you are seeking to verify
an injury received during service, contact your
Legion department service officer for informa-
tion on howto publish a notice.

To respond to a "Comrades in Distress" listing,
send a letter to The American Legion Magazine,
Attn: Comrades in Distress, P.O. Box 1055,
Indianapolis, IN 46206. Include the listing's CID
number in your response.

"Taps" notices are published only for Legion-
naires who served as department commanders
or national officers.

NAVY

Agerholm DD 826, Baton Rouge, LA, 9/25-28,
Royce Attaway, (765) 766-5109, attaway826@
gmail.com; Arlington AGMR 2, Las Vegas,
10/13-16, Michael Ferderer, (952) 935-8162,
mpferderer@comcast.net; Casimir Pulaski
SSBN 633, Charleston, SC, 10/9-12, Bill Roup,

(718) 991-8592, sechf2@aol.com; Chewaucan
AOG 50, Virginia Beach, VA, 10/15-19, John (Ole)
Olsen, (630) 323-1696, jlolsen1@comcast.net;
Cimarron AO 22, Newport News, VA, 9/25-28, Ed
Linhart, (402) 896-8749, edcimoa22@gmail.com;
Enterprise CVAN/CVN 65, Waterloo, IA, 9/24-28,
Mike Butler, (319) 277-1779, mike.butler052@
gmail.com; Epping Forest MCS 7, Portland, OR,
9/11, Bill Franklin, (360) 673-5943, mefranklin@
kalama.com; Everett F. Larson DD/DDR 830,

San Francisco, 9/18-22, Clyde Bingham, (408)
667-1271, dbingham2@sbcglobal.net; Finch DER
328, Reno, NV, 10/5-8, Bob Piazza, (707) 337-9700,
rwpiazza@comcast.net

Forrestal CVA/CV/AVT 59, Branson, MO,

9/23-27, Jim Brussell, (935) 295-2863, cva59@
roadrunner.com; FortSnelling LSD 30, Nashville,
TN, 9/17-21, Ray Batiato, (540) 239-0159,
batman@swva.net; Frontier AD 25, Portland,

ME, 9/15-18, Robert Smith, (732) 251-1773,
ussfrontierad25@yahoo.com; Genesee AOG 8,
Providence, Rl, 9/18-21, Howard Walker, (401)
539-6767, hewlaw1@verizon.net; Gyatt DD
712/DDG 1, Dallas, 9/15-19, Fred Barata, (304)
599-0917, dd712ddg1@comcast.net; Halibut
SSGN/SSN 587, Branson, MO, 10/5-9, Paul King,
(863) 439-2910, paulking@tampabay.rr.com;
Haynsworth DD 700, Baton Rouge, LA, 10/2-5,
James Horn, (717) 263-8090, haynsworth@
comcast.net; Houston CL 81, Norfolk, VA,
10/20-25, Donna Rogers, (717) 792-9113, dlr7110@
yahoo.com; Huse DE 145, Myrtle Beach, FL,
9/28-10/1, David Perlstein, (561) 368-7167,
usshuse@gmail.com; Ingersoll DD 652/990,
Houston, 9/5-7, Dennis Harris, (979) 676-0612,
oldsailor62@gmail.com

Kaskaskia AO 27, Charlotte, NC, 9/24-28,

Ed Scheid, (302) 834-7050, teazbone@
aol.com; Keppler DD/DDE 765, Charleston,

SC, 9/29-10/5, Steve Mooney, (732) 284-0134,
keppler765@hotmail.com; L.Y. Spear AS 36,
Chicago, 9/3-7, Patty Kelso, (913) 677-1837,
pattykelso@usslyspear.org; Lake Champlain
CV 39, Plattsburg, NY, Ray Cote, (917) 836-3687,
raycote1@gmail.com; Long Beach CGN 9,

St. Louis, 9/8-14, Don Shade, (716) 569-2914,
lbcgn9@aol.com; Mahan DD 364/DLG 11/

DDG 46/DDG 72, Baton Rouge, LA, 10/1-5,

Gary White, (713) 501-7823, gankintx@comcast.
com; McMorris DE 1036, Long Beach, CA,
10/16-19, Ken Castille, (678) 583-5491, castille_k@
bellsouth.net; Morris DD 417, Las Vegas, 10/1-5,
Sue Dail Pittman, (561) 319-3701, epit637350@
aol.com; Navarro APA 215, Tucson, AZ, 10/20-24,
Gerald Baker, (928) 754-3301, doughboy@
npgcable.com; New York BB 34, Washington,
9/18-21, Brian Colona, (713) 858-8835, bcc@
vitol.com; Newport LST 1179, Las Vegas, 10/5-12,
Ray Batiato, (540) 239-0159, batman@swva.net

COMRADES

NMCB 8, Charleston, SC, 10/13-16, Ron Dougal
Sr., (480) 807-3016; Oak Hill LSD 7, Memphis, TN,
9/18-21, Raylah Holm, (509) 607-9021, raylah@
aol.com; Plymouth Rock LSD 29, Norfolk, VA,
9/25-28, Bill Hayne, (864) 934-2900, whhavnie@
charter.net; Randolph CV/CVA/CVS 15, Newport
News, VA, 9/21-28, Earl Cline, (352) 666-4519,
earltcline@yahoo.com; Ray SS 271/SSN 653,
Charleston, SC, 11/8-11, Tony Williams, (256)
503-5374, tonytwilliams57@aol.com; Robert
H. McCord DD 822, Branson, MO, 10/22-26,

John Childs, (843) 670-6811, johnmchilds6909@
gmail.com; Sampson DDG 10, St. Pete Beach,

FL, 4/30-5/3, Dave Brandt, (803) 478-2617,
drbrandt@ftc-i.net; Sea Cat SS 399, Branson, MO,
9/22-27, Lynn Trump, (937) 548-6116, trumplynn@
gmail.com; Sea Fox SS 402, Galveston, TX, 5/4-9,
Robert Caskey, (281) 324-4757, robert.e.caskey@
nctv.com; Soubarissen AO 93, Nashville, TN,
10/13-16, Tammy Beene, (615) 900-1230, tammy@
bestofnashvilletours.com

Thetis Bay CVE 90, CVH A 1 & LPH 6, Seattle,
9/3-7, Kenneth Enck, (308) 382-9365, gigrampa@
yahoo.com; Thomas Jefferson SSBN 618,

Charleston, SC, 9/21-24, Ron Bekech, (239)
437-4999, bekech@comcast.net; Tin Can Sailors
National Reunion, Charleston, SC, 8/17-21, Terry
Miller, (800) 223-5535, monica@destroyers.org;
Truckee AO 147, Seattle, 9/18-21, Mike Landers,
(770) 356-1727, mlanders52@yahoo.com; Tutuila
ARG 4, Myrtle Beach, SC, 9/3-6, Charlie Estelle,
(201) 262-0753, boxcar_charlie@verizon.net; VP
Officers, San Diego, 11/7-9, Rick Erazo, (619)
465-4225, admin@vpreunion.com; VP-16, San
Antonio, 10/1-5, Bill Sherman, (772) 708-3173,
vp16reunion@yahoo.com; VR-21, St. Augustine
Beach, FL, 10/20-23, Gale Downs, (904) 707-5568,
gadcpa@comcast.net; VW-1 All Hands Alumni
Assn, Williamsburg, VA, 9/22-26, Ralph Link, (309)
532-9160, aewron1fe@gmail.com; West Virginia
BB 48, San Antonio, 9/25-28, Mike Mullins,

(610) 952-3542, reunion2014@usswestvirginia.org

LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Post 716, CAiJohn Barrientos, Vaughn Dickson,
Larry Frame, Kenneth Hardman, William
Mayhue, Chris Neiffer, Esther Donovan, Robert
Phillips, Michael Reed, Lawrence Robison,
Fernando Rodriguez, James Smith, Carl Wilson
Post 219, FL: Joseph F. Douthett, Marvin Sands
Post 13, IA: NickF. Nassif Sr.

Post 642, MO: Joseph A. Cochran

IN SEARCH OF

19th Air Refueling Sqdn Radar & Radio Shop
Personnel (Otis AFB, 1972-1975), John
Sheridan, 352 County Road 75, Mechanicsville,
NY 12118

24th Inf 34th Rgt D Co (Korea, June 1950), Roy

Lee Cline, (817) 573-8650, kitaroy@yahoo.com

93rd BG (H)(VH)(M) (Castle AFB, CA, 1946-
1952), Jim Guddal, (866) 694-9058, jguddal@
yahoo.com

93rd REMS (Castle AFB, CA, 1959-1962), Joseph
Halado, (773) 592-6017, hondo711@yahoo.com
98th Supply Serv Bn 58th Field Depot (Qui
Nhon, Vietnam, May 1968-Dec 1969), Pedro
Caro, pedrincaro@hotmail.com
439th Mech Inf 8th Inf Div (Baumholder,
Germany, Sept 1977-Sept 1980), Arthur
Fryer, (352) 503-2569
Bravo Co 122nd Ord Bn 3rd Armd Div
(Gelnhausen, Germany, July 1959-
July 1963), Gary Raisio, (303) 475-0929,
garyraisio@gmail.com

Co 842 (NTC Great Lakes, June-Aug 1945),

Howard Kling, (513) 825-6592, hkling@
cinci.rr.com

HQ & HQ Btry Btry 2nd Howitzer Bn 75th
Arty V Corps (A&R Staff, Fliegerhorst
Gymnasion, Fliegerhorst Kaserne, Hanau,
Germany, Jan 1959-March 1961), Lawrence
Tiffin, (760) 327-9950, tiffintechnologies@
gmail.com

Mar Brks NAS Kodiak, AK (1958-1959), Jay

Allen, (260) 403-4945, 03jallen31@gmail.com

Mar Corps Test Unit 1 (Camp Horno, Camp
Pendleton, CA, Sept 1954-Jan 1956),

Jacques Volpei, (818) 845-1226, jgvolpei@
aol.com

NRTC San Diego & Camp Elliot Co 238 (1951-
1952), William Finlay, (928) 680-7422
Sampson NTB (Oct-Dec 1943), Larry Ricciuto,
(732) 244-2319, claire4944@aol.com
TACRON 1 (Coronado, CA, 1973-1976), Reuel
Miller, (707) 874-1951, reuelmiller@comcast.net

TAPS

Bruce L. Plumb, Dept, of Oregon. Nat l Contests
Supervisory Cmte. Memb. 1965-1976 and 1980-
1982, and Nat'l Contests Supervisory Cmte.
Chmn. 1977-1979.

Conrad L. Roberson, Dept, of Texas. Dept.
Cmdr. 2001-2002, Nat'l Exec. Cmte. Alt. Memb.
2004-2008, Nat'l Americanism Cncl. Vice
Chmn. 2003-2008, Nat'l Distinguished Guests
Cmte. Vice Chmn. 1984-1989, 1990-2000,
2001-2003 and 2011-2013, Nat'l Distinguished
Guests Cmte. Chmn. 2000-2001, Nat'l Exec.
Cmte. Memb. 2008-2011, Nat'l Legis. Cmsn.
Liaison Cmte. Memb. 2008-2011 and Nat'l Sec.
Cncl. Memb. 2013-2014.

David A. Roche Jr., Dept, of Indiana. Nat'l
Distinguished Guests Cmte. Vice Chmn. 2005-
2007, Nat'l Foreign Relations Cncl. Vice Chmn.
2012-2013 and Nat'l Veterans Affairs & Rehab.
Cncl. Memb. 2013-2014.

LEGION SHOPPER

THE LEGION ON FACEBOOK

WWW.LEGION.ORG/FACEBOOK

100 Year Old Morgan $*)Q75
Silver Dollars Foroniy 4/ ea .

Each of these Morgan Silver Dollars is very good to very
fine condition. All dated between 1878 and 1904 and con-
taining .77344 troy ounces of pure silver. Price is subject
to change without notice. Dates of our choice. All major
credit cards accepted. Limit 20 coins. FREE shipping.
Order Secure On line at www.ENIMORGAN.com
30-day unconditional return guarantee

Eastern Numismatics Inc

642 Franklin Ave Garden City, N.Y. 11530

1-800-835-0008

on the internet at USCOINS.COM

■ Paris ■ Eagle's Nest * Normandy Landing Beaches

• Reims * Nuremburg * General Patton's Grave

■ Munich • Berchtesgaden * Dachau Memorial

^ I Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Mekong Delta - Nha Trang
w Chu La • Hoi An • Da Nang <

Halong Bay Cruise - Hanoi

• Remagen Bridge

* Bastogne

June 1-13 • August 5-17, 2015

Ym I iHli UCRltTI Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) • My Tho * Cu Chi Tunnels
Mekong Delta * Nha Trang * Cam Ranh AF Base * Hue
* Chu La • Hoi An • Da Nang • Quang Tri * A Shau Valley

Halong Bay Cruise ■ Hanoi - DMZ • US Military Bases

Testimonial : “Thank you. What a trip U For IS years I thought about going back to

Vietnam... I have to soy every question was answered and the follow up wos second '

to non e. Never once did I th ink I should shop for an o ther tour company.' -David 0. K1

Call for Brochures 1-888-414-41 77 www.RupiperTours.com

U.S, MILITARY MEDALS & RIBBONS

FREE COLOR CATALOG!
r TOLL FREE TEL: 800-864-5062 |

VETS SUPPLY LINE
10550 CO R D 81, #218
IAPLE GROVE, MN 5536

WEB SITE: www.MUItaryV6tsPX.com

CUSTOM BALL CAPS-NAVY SHIP CAPS

• HAT PINS

</>

III

MEDALS •
09

DIGITAL HEARING

SALE

5 year a QQQ 95 An Y size
warranty «>009 or style

FREE Telephone Hearing Test

FREE Consultation with Technician

FREE TRIAL • FREE S&H

NEW!

OPEN FIT
TECHNOLOGY

Most Brands

Repairs $77“

ScwxIMI

Hearing ONE • 1-800-249-4163

100 Main St., Marty, SD 57361

NOT AVAILABLE IN WA

• FREE COLOR CATALOG

• 2500+ Military Designs

• Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines

• Call now! Toll-free!
1-888-223-1159

• Custom pins & patches available.
Dealer inquires welcome.

by Hoover’s Mfg., Co.

P.O. Box 547AL, Peru, IL 61354
Fax: 1-815-223-1499

Email: dave@hmchonors.com
Website: www.hmchonors.com

AUGUST 2014 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE g3

PARTING SHOTS

Horse sense is just stable thinking.

IN A WINDOW of a house on a suburban street
appeared a sign: “Piano for sale.” A few hours later,
a sign appeared in a window of the house next
door: “Yay!”

A YOUNG BOY told his father, “Today is Abraham
Lincoln’s birthday. He was great, wasn’t he?”

“Indeed he was,” his father replied. “When he
was your age he was out splitting rails.”

“Yep. And when he was your age, he was
president of the United States!”

“We decided to recall our new drug because a common side effect is lawsuits.’

A MAN charged with murder bribed a friend on the
jury to hold out for a manslaughter verdict. The jury
was out for a long time, but at last brought in the
desired result.

During a visit in prison the next week, the man
thanked his friend. “You must’ve had a tough time
getting them to vote for manslaughter,” he said.

“Tough is right,” the friend replied. “The other 11
wanted to acquit you.”

THE UNITED STATES has more golf curses per
mile than any other country in the world.

THE ENGLISH TEACHER asked her class, “When
does a book become a classic?”

One student replied, “When people who haven’t
read it begin to say they have.”

“Good grief! Our house is so smart it just refinanced itself.”

I HAD AN HOURGLASS FIGURE. Unfortunately,
the sands shifted.

A MAN bought a parrot at an auction, but only after
some spirited bidding.

“I suppose the bird talks,” he remarked to the
auctioneer.

“Talks?” the auctioneer replied. “He’s been
bidding against you for the last half hour.”

THE FIVE DAYS after the weekend are always
the most difficult.

THE CHEAPEST WAY to trace your family tree is
to run for public office.

EVER HEAR about the short fortuneteller who
escaped from jail? She was a small medium at large.

ONE NICE THING about narcissists is that they
don’t talk about other people.

“THE SUPREME COURT has ruled that city council
meetings may open with a prayer. Especially if the
city in question is Detroit.” - Conan O’Brien

64 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2014

BRANCH LAW FIRM'

ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW

ACTOS®

AND

DIABETES

PATIENTS

ACTOS®, also known as pioglitazone, is a medication prescribed for Type II Diabetes, manufactured by
the Japanese company Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Takeda began a 10-year epidemiological
study to determine the safety of Actos®. During the five-year interim analysis of the study in August
201 1, the results found that there was a 40% increased risk of bladder cancer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to all physicians prescribing Actos®.
The FDA is also aware of a recent epidemiological study conducted in France, which suggests an
increased risk of bladder cancer with pioglitazone. Based on the results of this study, France has
suspended the use of pioglitazone and Germany has recommended not to start pioglitazone in new
patients.

If you, a family member, or a loved one has bladder cancer and has ACTOS®, you may be entitled to
compensation. Please contact the Branch Law Firm, a well-known national law firm that has been in
business over 45 years, for a free initial interview and consultation.

We have learned from a series of investigations that GranuFlo, an alkaline substance given to dialysis patients
to neutralize the acid that builds up in the blood, can increase serious health risks associated with dialysis.

GranuFlo Recall

In June 201 2, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class I recall of GranuFlo Dry Acid
Concentrate and Naturalyte Liquid, a dialysis product used in the treatment of acute and chronic renal
(kidney) failure during hemodialysis. Class I recalls are used for dangerous or defective products that
may cause serious health problems or even death.

GranuFlo, manufactured by Fresenius Medical Care, has been found to contain far more acetate than rival
products, resulting in elevated bicarbonate levels - a significant risk factor for cardiac arrest in dialysis
patients.

If you or a loved one has experienced a cardiac event, stroke, or death following the use of GranuFlo, then
you may be entitled to compensation. The Branch Law Firm, a nationally known law firm, is handling these
types of cases and specifically representing clients on a national basis regarding GranuFlo. Call for a
confidential interview, 1 -800-828-4529 or 1 -800-243-3545 and visit our website at

www.branchlawfirm.com.

Turner W. Branch, a principal and senior partner of the Branch Law Firm, retired as a 1st Lieutenant in the
United States Marine Corps in 1 968. He served on active duty in Camp Pendleton , California and at the
Marine Corps Air Facility (MCAF) in Santa Ana, California. While at Camp Pendleton he served with the
Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division (FMF) USMC.

Call today, the Branch Law Firm, 1-800-828-4529
or visit our website at www.branchlawfirm.com.

Offices

GRANUFLO
IN DIALYSIS
PATIENTS

New Mexico 2025 Rio Grande Boulevard, NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104
Texas 808 Travis Street, Suite 1 553, Houston, TX 77002
Washington, DC 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20004

1 - 800 - 828-4529

www.branchlawfirnn.conn

Peer Review Rated

For Ethical Standards^* Lesal Ability'"

PREEMINENT™

Marti ndale-Hubbell®

from LexisNexis'®

2013

Turner W. Branch, (PA.)

100 %

{ Wash

FIT-FOREVER

'Wealth!

Stretch - Twill

JEAIMS

Our Most Innovative
Fit-Forever® Waistband
yet — STEALTH!

These polyester twills give you
the handsome look of denim,
but now with extra stretch
comfort in all directions! Easy
snap closure, 2 front pockets,
2 back pockets, coin pocket,
and back yoke. A center back
loop helps your belt stay put.
They wash and dry without a
worry, fade or wrinkle!

Order right now!

Heather

Heather
with Extra
Cell Phone
Pocket!

IstirErtcti -Twill

JEAIMS

per pair
when you
buy 2

2 pairs 39.98 3 pairs 57.97 4 pairs 74.95

Haband #1 Bargain Place, Jessup, PA 18434-1834

9 DVisa DMC □ Discover® Network DAmEx

□ Check

Card #

Exp.:

Mr. Mrs. Ms.
Address

Apt

City & State

Phone/Email

Send pairs.

Send pairs. I enclose $

shipping. In GA add sales tax.

FOR MAXIMUM COMFORT,
ORDER YOUR USUAL WAIST
SIZE!

Waist: 32 34 36 38 40 42 44
*Big Men ($5.50 more per pair):
46 48 50 52 54 56
Inseams:

XS(25-26) S(27-28)

M (29-30) L(31 -32)

purchase price plus toward

FREE SHIPPING!

WHAT

WAIST?

WHAT

INSEAM?

HOW

MANY?

NAVY

MEDIUM BLUE

BLACK

GREY HEATHER

BLUE HEATHER/
CELL PHONE PKT

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed or Full Refund of merchandise purchase price.

When you pay by check, you authorize us to use information from your check to clear it electronically. Funds may be withdrawn from
Imported ^y° ur account as soon as the same day we receive your payment, and you will not receive your check back from your financial institution.

For Faster Service Call: 1-800-543-4810 or visit www.Haband.com/bestdeals

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "The American Legion [Volume 177, No. 2 (August 2014)]"

See other formats